Военный конфликт в Афганистане

Konisheva Elizaveta 9A

Military conflicts «Afghanistan»

Afghan war - a military conflict on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA). A limited contingent of Soviet troops took part in this conflict. The conflict was between the government forces of Afghanistan and the armed forces of the Afghan Mujahideen, who were supported by NATO, and especially the United States, who actively armed the enemies of the Afghan regime.

Background of the Afghan WarThe war itself, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, in historiography is determined by the presence on the territory of Afghanistan of a limited contingent of the Armed Forces of the USSR. But the beginning of the whole conflict should be considered the year 1973, when King Zahir Shah was overthrown in Afghanistan. The regime passed to the regime of Mohammed Daoud, and in 1978 the Saur (April) revolution took place, and the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), proclaiming the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, became the new government. Afghanistan began to build socialism, but all construction proceeded in a highly unstable internal situation.

The PDDP leader was Nur Mohammad Taraki. His reforms were extremely unpopular in a country where traditionally the majority were rural residents. Any dissent was brutally suppressed. During his reign, he arrested thousands of people, some of whom were executed.

The main opponents of the socialist government were the radical Islamists who declared a holy war (jihad) to them. Detachments of the Mujahideen were organized, which later became the main opposing force - the Soviet army fought with it.

The majority of the population of Afghanistan was illiterate, and it was easy for Islamist agitators to turn the population against the new government.

Start of the war

Immediately after coming to power, the government was confronted with the outbreak of armed insurgency organized by the Islamists. The Afghan leadership failed to cope with this situation and turned to Moscow for help. The question of aid to Afghanistan was considered in the Kremlin on March 19, 1979. Leonid Brezhnev and other members of the Politburo spoke out against armed intervention. But over time, the situation at the borders of the USSR deteriorated, and the opinion changed dramatically.On December 12, 1979, the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU to enter Soviet troops in Afghanistan was adopted. Formally, the repeated requests of the leadership of Afghanistan became the cause, and in fact these actions were supposed to prevent the threat of foreign military intervention.It must be remembered that, in addition to tensions with the Mujahideen, there was no unity in the government itself. The inner-party struggle, which reached its apogee in September 1979, became particularly irreconcilable. It was then that the PDPA leader Nur Mohammad Taraki was arrested and killed by Hafizullah Amin. Amin took the place of Taraki and, continuing to fight against the Islamists, he intensified the repression inside the ruling party.

According to Soviet intelligence, Amin was trying to negotiate with Pakistan and China that our experts considered unacceptable. On December 27, 1979, a detachment of Soviet special forces captured the presidential palace, Amin and his sons were killed. The new leader of the country was Babrak Karmal.

The course of the war

As a result, our soldiers were embroiled in the beginning of the civil war and became its active participants. The whole war can be divided into several stages:

Stage 1: December 1979 - February 1980. Introduction to Afghanistan of the 40th Soviet army of General Boris Gromov, accommodation in garrisons, organization of the protection of strategic objects and places of deployment.

Stage 2: March 1980 - April 1985. Conduct active large-scale hostilities. Reorganization and strengthening of the armed forces of the DRA.

3rd stage: May 1985 - December 1986. Reduction of active hostilities and transition to support for the actions of the Afghan government forces. Assistance was provided by aviation and demining units. Organization of countering the delivery of weapons and ammunition from abroad. Six regiments were brought home.

4th stage: January 1987 - February 1989. Helping the Afghan leadership implement national reconciliation policies. Continued support for hostilities by government forces. Preparations for the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

In April 1988, an agreement was signed between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Switzerland to resolve the situation around the DRA. The Soviet Union pledged to withdraw its troops within nine months, and the United States and Pakistan were to stop supporting the Mujahideen. In April 1988, in accordance with the treaty, the Soviet troops were completely withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Losses in the Afghan war

At present, it is known that the losses of the Soviet army amounted to 14,427 people, the KGB - 576 people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs - 28 people (dead and missing). 53 thousand people were wounded and contused during the fighting.Exact data on Afghans killed in the war is unknown. According to various sources, these losses could range from 1 to 2 million people. From 850 thousand to one and a half million people became refugees and settled mainly in Pakistan and Iran. After the war The mojahedin did not participate in the Geneva talks and did not support these decisions. As a result, after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops, the fighting did not stop, but even intensified.The new leader of Afghanistan, Najibullah, without Soviet assistance, barely restrained the onslaught of the Mujahideen. There was a split in his government, many of his associates joined the opposition. In March 1992, General Dostum and his Uzbek militia departed from Najibullah. In April, the Mujahideen captured Kabul. Najibullah was hiding in the building of the UN mission for a long time, but was captured by the Taliban and hanged.

US opposition to the Soviet Union

Great assistance in supporting the counterrevolution in Afghanistan was provided by the United States of America. They were the initiators and organizers of many international protests against the Soviet Union.As early as 1980, the Islamic Conference was organized, at which 34 foreign ministers demanded the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. At the suggestion of the United States, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in protest against Soviet intervention. American President D. Carter spoke in favor of a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

The United States and the Arab Gulf monarchies organized unprecedented aid to Afghan militants. With their money, the Mujahideen were trained in Pakistan and China. Actively participated in the operations against the Soviet CIA forces.

During the entire period of hostilities, the United States supplied the Mujahideen with various modern weapons (recoilless guns, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and others).