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The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan consisted of Soviet military support for the Afghan government from 1979 to 1989 against CIA-funded terrorists known as the Mujahideen. The supporters of the mujahideen were predominantly landlords, bandits, and religious leaders in addition to some men who opposed the government's support for women's rights.[1]
Background
Afghanistan overthrew its feudal dictatorship in 1978 without any Soviet involvement. The Afghan government allowed women to read and made it illegal to sell them as brides.[1]
Soviet involvement
Soviet support was limited to military advisors until December 1979, when Hafizullah Amin (who was educated in the USA and was suspected of being a CIA asset) overthrew and killed Nur Muhammad Taraki. When Amin ordered his soldiers to kill thousands of civilians, causing many soldiers to join the mujahideen, the Soviet Union killed him. The Soviet Union began using strategic bombers like the TU-16 in 1984.[1]
War crimes
Mujahideen
The mujahideen bombed more than 1,000 rural schools and hospitals and frequently used rockets and bombs in urban areas. They assassinated as many government officials as they could and also killed Western journalists to steal their cameras. A unit of 1,200 rebels assassinated 600 people in one city over the course of two years.[1]
Soviet Army
Soviet troops were not allowed to shoot or even arrest civilians unless they were armed or breaking laws. They may have accidentally shot civilians while trying to shoot back at terrorists who attack them. Soldiers who did commit war crimes were harshly punished.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Austin Murphy (2000). The Triumph of Evil: 'The Documented Facts about Eastern Europe and Communism' (pp. 65–9). [PDF] Fucecchio: European Press Academic Publishing. ISBN 8883980026