Afghan Civil War (1996-2001)
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| Afghan Civil War (1996-2001 period) | |||||||
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| Part of the Afghan Civil War | |||||||
| Image:Kabulin1996.png Kabul shortly after being taken by the Taliban in 1996. | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Image:Flag of Afghanistan 1992 free.png Northern Alliance | Image:Flag of Taliban (bordered).svg Taliban al-Qaeda | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Burhanuddin Rabbani Ahmed Shah Massoud† Mohammed Fahim Abdul Rashid Dostum | Mohammed Omar | ||||||
| Afghan Civil War |
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| Soviet involvement · Civil War (1989-1992) · Civil War (1992-1996) · Civil War (1996-2001)· U.S. involvement |
The Afghan Civil War continued after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, with the formation of the Afghan Northern Alliance attempting to oust the Taliban, from 1996 to 2001. It proved largely unsuccessful, as the Taliban continued to make gains and eliminated much of the Alliance's leadership.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Since 1978, Afghanistan had been in a civil war between different factions. The Mujahideen eventually succeeded in taking control in 1992, only to then descend into chaos as they fractured into different groups all fighting for control of the nation. In 1994 the Taliban was formed and made gains against the other factions, and by 1996 they had taken Kabul and executed the former President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah, who had been residing there under UN protection since his regime was ousted in 1992. The Taliban practiced a radical form of Sunni Islam that took strict stances on women, society, and even other Muslims.
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Northern Alliance formed
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on September 27, 1996,<ref>"Afghan rebels seize capital, hang former president", CNN, 1996-07-27.</ref> General Dostum joined forces with Ahmed Shah Massoud to form the Northern Alliance, a grouping of militia that aimed to defeat the Taliban. <ref>"Afghan warlord vows to join fight against Taliban", CNN, 1996-10-15.</ref> The Northern Alliance began to get funding and arms from Russia and Iran, who both feared the Taliban's growing influence.
[edit] Alliance pushes to Kabul
In October 1996, the Taliban began to strike points north of Kabul with jets and artillery while Dostum and Massoud massed forces in preparation for an offensive. <ref>"Taliban bombards targets in northern Afghanistan", CNN, 1996-10-18.</ref> On October 19th, the alliance pushed forward with tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy weapons into the Bagram airbase, which was the first major victory against the Taliban since they lost Kabul. <ref>"Afghan government forces recapture key military positions", CNN, 1996-10-19.</ref> They continued their advance and vowed to retake Kabul, with Massoud's front line commander stating "God willing, we will be in Kabul today or tomorrow." <ref>"Afghan government troops close in on capital", CNN, 1996-10-20.</ref> But fighting raged for several days, and the lack of a major breakthrough forced the Alliance to withdraw to northern positions.<ref>"Heavy fighting with no results in Afghanistan", CNN, 1996-11-10.</ref>
[edit] Dostum faces uprising
In 1997 the Taliban began an offensive against the territories held by General Dostum that caused some of his forces to rebel and join the Taliban on May 20th.<ref>"Afghan Taliban claim advances against warlord", CNN, 1997-05-07.</ref> This led him to flee Afghanistan, leaving much of his army behind, and enter the safety of Uzbekistan. The newly Taliban-friendly forces handed over the city of Mazari Sharif to the Taliban. Soon, however, their strict stance against Shiite Muslims led the former Dostum forces to turn against the Taliban. In intense fighting in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban were defeated, and 3,000 of their soldiers were captured and executed. The forces of Massoud attempted another push towards the capital. After making gains north of the capital, they once again met heavy resistance in Kabul. <ref>"Afghanistan's Taliban, opposition both claim gains", CNN, 1997-07-31.</ref> The Taliban continued to push into the Alliance's territory, however, and reached Mazar-i-Sharif, taking it again by August 8, 1998. Upon taking it, they began a mass killing of the locals; 4,000 to 5,000 civilians were executed, and many more reported tortured. <ref>"U.N. report details Taliban mass killings", CNN, 1998-11-06.</ref> This offensive by the Taliban left them in control of 90% of the nation.
[edit] Iranian Crisis
Also among those killed in Mazari Sharif were several Iranian diplomats. Others were kidnapped by the Taliban, touching off a hostage crisis that nearly escalated to a full scale war, with 250,000 Iranian soldiers massed on the Afghan border at one time. <ref>"Iranian military exercises draw warning from Afghanistan", CNN, 1997-08-31.</ref> It was later admitted that they were killed by the Taliban, and their bodies were returned to Iran. <ref>"Taliban threatens retaliation if Iran strikes", CNN, 1997-09-15.</ref> In September the Taliban claimed that Iran violated its airspace, and later Iran claimed minor clashes occurred between the Taliban and Iran after it led a raid into eastern Iran, though the Taliban denied it led the raid. <ref>"Afghanistan claims Iranian aircraft invaded its airspace", CNN, 1997-10-02.</ref> <ref>"Iran reports clash with Afghan militia", CNN, 1997-10-08.</ref> Eventually with UN mediation, the tensions cooled.
[edit] Continued Push
The Taliban continued to push north, making gains against the Northern Alliance in 1999. At one time they held roughly 95% of the nation and had pushed the Northern Alliance out of range of Kabul entirely. But Ahmed Shah Massoud once again defended the Panjshir Valley from Taliban advances and brought the war to another stand still.
[edit] Massoud Assassinated
On September 9, 2001, a suicide bomber, posing as a journalist, blew himself up after gaining access to Massoud's office. The suicide bomber was killed along with one of Massoud's followers, and the Afghan commander's guards killed the second person posing as a journalist. Massoud was struck in the chest with shrapnel from the bomb, which was either hidden in the camera or concealed around the waist of one of the terrorists. Massoud died shortly after being taken to Tajikistan for emergency care. It is suspected that Al Qaeda carried out this attack to eliminate the Northern Alliance's most skilled leader in order to secure their protection under the Taliban after the September 11th, 2001 attacks. <ref>"Flawed Ally Was Hunt's Best Hope", Washington Post, 2004-02-23.</ref> Though some feared that his death would lead to chaos, the Northern Alliance held together and would go on to work with the USA and its coalition in Operation Enduring Freedom.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
