The Americans supported the rebels as a means of inflicting their own “Vietnam” on the Soviet Union. It was clear that his position as head of the Afghan government depended entirely on Soviet military support.From 1979 to 1989 the Americans supported the Mujahideen Islamic rebels in their fight against the Soviet Union’s invasion. 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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