Afghanistan War Timeline: The war in Afghanistan has been going on for the last 40 years. Sometimes the war ended here and sometimes this war started again. In such a situation, know the timeline of the entire war …
American soldiers returning from Afghanistan (AFP)
The Soviet Union entered Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 1979. It claimed that the invite was made by the new Afghan communist leader, Babrak Karmal. With this began a never ending war for 40 years. After the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, America entered the country. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the US infiltrated into Afghanistan to remove the Taliban from power. During this, apart from the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, was also present in Afghanistan.
After nearly 20 years, America is also calling back its last soldiers after ending the war in Afghanistan. America is leaving behind a government in which there is a lot of differences and corruption. In such a situation, the ongoing peace talks with the Taliban are also expected to end. It is believed that as soon as America leaves Afghanistan, the country will once again be in the grip of civil war. In such a situation, let us see the timeline of Afghanistan’s war for 40 years.
25 December 1979: Soviet troops crossed the Oxus River and entered Afghanistan. The Afghan mujahideen in neighboring Pakistan were armed with weapons and money provided by the US for the anti-communist war. After this, more than 8 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran in view of the possibility of war.
1980: The CIA’s secret ‘Operation Cyclone’ funds weapons and money for the war through Pakistani dictator Mohammad Zia-ul Haq. Pakistan calls on Muslim countries to send people to fight in Afghanistan. Bin Laden was also one of thousands of such extremists.
1983: President Ronald Reagan meets Mujahideen leaders at the White House and calls them freedom fighters.
September 1986: The US provides the Mujahideen with shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, which change the course of the war. Soviet forces start making plans to withdraw.
15 February 1989: The last Soviet soldier leaves Afghanistan and thus ends the 10-year occupation.
April 1992: Mujahideen groups enter Kabul. Meanwhile, the fleeing Najibullah was stopped at the airport and placed under house arrest at a UN compound.
1992-1996: The division of power among the Mujahideen leaders breaks down and they spend four years fighting each other. In this battle much of Kabul is destroyed and about 50,000 people are killed.
1994: The Taliban rises in southern Kandahar and takes over the province. This terrorist organization established a rule following the strict interpretation of Islam.
26 September 1996: The Taliban captured Kabul and barely fought throughout the country. Northern Coalition forces retreat north towards the Panjshir Valley. At the same time, the Taliban hanged Najibullah and his brother.
1996-2001: The end of the fighting was initially welcomed. But the Taliban ruled in a very brutal manner under Mullah Mohammad Omar. Strict Islamic rules were imposed, women were denied the right to work and girls were denied the right to go to school. Criminals were publicly punished.
September 2001: After the 9/11 attacks, Washington gives Mullah Omar an ultimatum to hand over bin Laden and destroy military training camps. But the leader of the Taliban refuses to do so.
7 October 2001: Coalition forces led by America march into Afghanistan.
13 November 2001: The Taliban flee Kabul to Kandahar, as the US-led coalition marches with the Northern Alliance into the Afghan capital.
5 December 2001: The Bonn Agreement was signed in Germany, giving most of the power to the leading countries of the Northern Alliance and consolidating the warlords who ruled between 1992 and 1996. Hamid Karzai was made the President of Afghanistan.
7 December 2001: Mullah Omar left Kandahar and the Taliban regime officially collapsed.
1 May 2003: President George W. Bush announced the completion of the mission, as the Pentagon said the great war in Afghanistan was over.
2004 and 2009: Karzai is elected president for two consecutive terms in two general elections.
Summer of 2006: America is fighting a war in Iraq, where the Taliban once again stand up. Soon they begin to recapture the countryside in the south.
5 April 2014: There is an allegation of rigging in the election for Karzai’s successor. Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah claim victory. In the US-led deal, Ghani is made president and Abdullah becomes chief executive. Thus begins the era of a divided government.
8 December 2014: American and NATO troops formally ended their combat missions. After this, the support and training of the Afghan government is started. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama orders US forces to conduct operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets.
2015-2018: Taliban starts growing rapidly. Attacks are carried out every day targeting soldiers. In this way he captures half of the country. Meanwhile, the Islamic State also sided with the Taliban.
September 2018: President Donald Trump appointed veteran Afghan-American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad as a negotiator with the Taliban following his election promise to bring US troops home. The talks last until 2019, although the Taliban have refused to negotiate with the Kabul government and escalate attacks.
28 September 2019: Another controversial presidential election took place. Ghani is not declared the winner until February 2020. Abdullah rejected the results and kept his oath-taking program. Months later, an agreement is reached to install Ghani as president and Abdullah as the head of the peace negotiating committee.
29 February 2020: The US and the Taliban signed an agreement in Qatar. It set a timetable for the withdrawal of 13,000 US troops in Afghanistan and committed the rebels to halt attacks on Americans.
18 March 2021: Moscow hosts a one-day peace conference between rival Afghan sides after the US proposed a draft peace plan. But efforts to resume peace talks between the Taliban and the government fail. The Taliban and government negotiators have not sat at the table since.
14 April 2021: President Joe Biden says he will withdraw the remaining 2,500-3,500 US troops in Afghanistan by September 11. In this way the withdrawal of American troops begins.
2 July 2021: The US handed over Bagram Airfield to Afghan military control. This was seen by the American side as ending the war.
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