![]() ![]() On December 27, Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham faction of the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was installed as Afghanistan’s new head of government, and Soviet ground forces entered Afghanistan from the north. Elements of the Afghan army loyal to Hafizullah Amin put up a fierce, but brief resistance. Within a few days, the Soviets had secured Kabul, deploying a special assault unit against Tajberg Palace. It was clear that his position as head of the Afghan government depended entirely on Soviet military support.On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978.Īs midnight approached, the Soviets organized a massive military airlift into Kabul, involving an estimated 280 transport aircraft and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each. Many Afghan soldiers had deserted to the Mujahideen and the Karmal government needed 85,000 Soviet soldiers to keep him in power. This all came to a head on the 24 December 1979 when Soviet troops invaded Afghanisation.Īmin was assassinated and a pro-Moscow leader, Babrak Karmal, was installed in his place. The USSR alleged that Amin was an agent of the CIA they did not want American influence on their Southern border.The Mujahideen wanted the overthrow of the Amin government they declared a jihad – a holy war – on the supporters of Amin.The situation became increasingly unstable as: The revolt against communist rule which had begun under Taraki worsened under Amin. In a difficult and confusing struggle for control in Afghan politics, Hafizullah Amin came to power and ordered the death of his predecessor Taraki. This outraged the majority of those in Afghanistan and led to the formation of an anti-communist resistance movement known as the Mujahideen. ![]() The communists imprisoned, tortured and murdered many Muslim religious leaders.Many ordinary Afghans rejected it because its atheism was at odds with their Muslim faith.The new government was led by Nur Muhammad Taraki. Afghanistan bordered some of the southern Soviet republics of the USSR, making it easy for Moscow to support a communist-led government when it seized power in the country’s capital, Kabul, in April 1978. ![]()
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