Civil war in Afghanistan (1996-2001)

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Afghan Civil War (1996-2001 period)
Part of the Afghan Civil War

Factions after the 1996 fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
Date 1996–2001
Location
Result Taliban makes gains against Northern Alliance, U.S. intervention.
Belligerents
Flag of Afghanistan Northern Alliance
Flag of Iran Iran
Flag of the United States United States		 Flag of Afghanistan Taliban
Al-Qaeda
Commanders
Flag of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani
Flag of Afghanistan Ahmed Shah Massoud †
Flag of Afghanistan Mohammed Fahim
Flag of Afghanistan Abdul Rashid Dostum		 Flag of Afghanistan Mohammed Omar
Osama bin Laden
v • d • e
Civil war in Afghanistan

The Civil war in Afghanistan continued after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, with the formation of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (more commonly known as the Northern Alliance), which attempted 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. The Northern Alliance was supported by Russia, Turkey, Iran and India while the Taliban were supported by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

Contents

[edit] Background

Since 1978, Afghanistan had been in a civil war between different factions. The Mujahedin 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,[1] General Dostum joined forces with Ahmed Shah Massoud to form the Northern Alliance, a grouping of militia that aimed to defeat the Taliban. [2] 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. [3] 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. [4] 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." [5] But fighting raged for several days, and the lack of a major breakthrough forced the Alliance to withdraw to northern positions.[6]

[edit] Dostum faces uprising

In 1997 the Taliban began an offensive against the territories held by General Dostum that caused some of his forces, led by General Abdul Malik, to rebel and join the Taliban on May 20th.[7] This led him to flee Afghanistan, leaving much of his army behind, and seek refuge in 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 to a confrontation between Hazara militias and 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] It was later admitted that they were killed by the Taliban, and their bodies were returned to Iran.[11] 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.[12][13] 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.[14]

[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 reported that Al Qaeda carried out this attack to eliminate the Northern Alliance's most effective military leader. At this time Taliban human rights violations and actions such as the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, were creating international support for Massoud's group as the legitimate representatives of Afghanistan,[15] while Al-Qaeda was planning the September 11th, 2001 attacks on America which were sure to provoke serious retaliation and create a need for the Taliban's protection.[16] The killing was reportedly handled by Ayman Zawahiri and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad wing of al-Qaeda.

The attack left the Northern Alliance leaderless, and removed "the last obstacle to the Taliban’s total control of the country ..."[17] But did not lead to chaos as some had feared. The Northern Alliance held together and would go on to work with the USA and its coalition in Operation Enduring Freedom. At the time of Massoud's assassination, Northern Alliance strength was estimated at 11,000 troops and the Taliban at 45,000.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Afghan rebels seize capital, hang former president", CNN, 1996-07-27. 
  2. ^ "Afghan warlord vows to join fight against Taliban", CNN, 1996-10-15. 
  3. ^ "Taliban bombards targets in northern Afghanistan", CNN, 1996-10-18. 
  4. ^ "Afghan government forces recapture key military positions", CNN, 1996-10-19. 
  5. ^ "Afghan government troops close in on capital", CNN, 1996-10-20. 
  6. ^ "Heavy fighting with no results in Afghanistan", CNN, 1996-11-10. 
  7. ^ "Afghan Taliban claim advances against warlord", CNN, 1997-05-07. 
  8. ^ "Afghanistan's Taliban, opposition both claim gains", CNN, 1997-07-31. 
  9. ^ "U.N. report details Taliban mass killings", CNN, 1998-11-06. 
  10. ^ "Iranian military exercises draw warning from Afghanistan", CNN, 1997-08-31. 
  11. ^ "Taliban threatens retaliation if Iran strikes", CNN, 1997-09-15. 
  12. ^ "Afghanistan claims Iranian aircraft invaded its airspace", CNN, 1997-10-02. 
  13. ^ "Iran reports clash with Afghan militia", CNN, 1997-10-08. 
  14. ^ "Massoud ready to fight on", Eurasianet, 2000-10-06. 
  15. ^ Wright, Looming Towers (2006), p.337
  16. ^ "Flawed Ally Was Hunt's Best Hope", Washington Post, 2004-02-23. 
  17. ^ Wright, Looming Towers (2006), p.355
  18. ^ "Taliban and the Northern Alliance", usgovinfo, 2001-11-09.