Afghan Northern Alliance
Encyclopedia : A : AF : AFG : Afghan Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance was a term used by the Western media, Taliban and Al-Qaeda to identify the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, a military-political coalition of various Afghan groups fighting against the Taliban. Although recognised by most foreign nations as the legal Government, it only controlled around 30% of Afghanistan's population. President Burhanuddin Rabbani was the notional head of the UIF, however most power resided with the Defence Ministers; Ahmed Shah Massoud and later Mohammed Fahim. With extensive assistance from US Air Support and Special Forces, the UIF succeeded in retaking most of Afghanistan from the Taliban in early 2002. Despite fears of a return to the chaos similar to that in 1992, the UIF largely accepted the new order.
History
The mujahideen predecessors of the UIF forces previously showed themselves unable to rule effectively, turning on each other after they took control in Kabul in 1992 from the Soviet-backed regime. These UIF's predecessors were responsible for brutal excesses during the factional civil strife that raged after the collapse of the Communist Government. This bloody feuding between forces loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani and rival factions ultimately cleared the way for the Taliban conquest in 1996.
Three ethnic groups dominated the UIF, the Tajiks, who make up 27% of Afghanistan's population and are the second largest ethnic group, and the Hazara and the Uzbeks, who both make up about 9% of the population. From the Taliban conquest 1996 until November 2001 the UIF controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population. UIF controlled provinces like Badakshan, Kapisa, Takhar and parts of Parwan, Kunar, Nuristan, Laghmaan, Samangan, Qunduz, Ghor and Bamian, all in the north of the country (hence the name 'Northern Alliance'). Throughout the campaign against the Taliban, the Northern Alliance's fortunes fluctuated, but neither side succeeded in gaining a major advantage.
The political leader of the alliance was Burhanuddin Rabbani, however he was little more than a figurehead for the military commanders. Ahmed Shah Massoud served as the UIF's Minister of Defence and was by far its most visible and powerful figure. He personnally commanded around 10,000 of the UIF's estimated 40,000 troops. Massoud's troops were also the best trained and best equipped that the UIF had. Several other important military leaders controlled different factions within the alliance, including Abdul Rashid Dostum, General Mohammed Fahim, and Ismail Khan.
On September 13 2001 it was confirmed that the Ahmed Shah Massoud had died, following an attack by Al-Qaeda assassins posing as journalists four days earlier on September 9. Mohammed Fahim, the second ranking Tajik commander succeeded Massoud a few days later. In November and December of 2001, the UIF was successful in advancing to control much of the country, including the capital Kabul. This was facilitated by extensive bombing of Taliban forces and military infrastructure by the United States during the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan.
Legacy
The UIF was extremely influential in the transitional Afghan Government of Hamid Karzai. Notably, Mohammed Fahim became a Vice President and Minister of Defence, Yunus Qanuni became Minister of Education and Security Advisor and Dr Abdullah became Foreign Minister. Most foreign observers expected this dominance to continue and for Fahim or Qanuni to be selected as Karzai's Vice President in the 2004 elections. However, Karzai instead selected Ahmad Zia Massoud, younger brother of the former UIF leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Karzai easily won the 2004 Presidential election with 55.4% of the vote, followed by three former leaders of the UIF, Quanuni (16.3%), Mohammed Mohaqiq (11.7%) and Abdul Rashid Dostum (10%).
Presently the former UIF has splintered into a number of political factions. Most of the Tajik and Hazara members are believed to be at least loosely alligned with Quanuni's political alliance; including Mohammed Fahim, Mohammed Mohaqiq and Dr Abdullah. Quanuni's supporters succeeded in electing him Speaker of the lower house of the Afghan Legislature, and is widely considered in the West to be the de-facto leader of the opposition to Hamid Karzai. Another faction, mostly made up of Uzbeks, has built up around Dostum, who clashed with Fahim during the time of the Transitional Administration. Finally, a number of former UIF members are now loyal to Karzai, notably Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Much of the military strength of the UIF has now been absorbed into the Afghan National Army or disarmed. The existence and strength of the Afghan National Army has significantly reduced the threat of the former UIF elements attempting to use military action against the new government. However, most of the senior officers are former members of the UIF, including General Bismillah Khan.
Factions
The UIF was comprised of roughly five of the factions of mujahideen fighters. Iran and Turkey considered there to be seven factions in total. These groups were:
- Islamic Party of Afghanistan - Jamiat-I Islami-yi Afghanistan - Made up of mainly Persian-speaking Tajiks, led by Burhanuddin Rabbani. In later years as the capital was lost and the situation was largely military, Rabbani had little influence compared to Ahmed Shah Massoud the Defence Minister.
- Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan - Hizb-I Wahdat-I Islami-yi Afghanistan - Made up of Shia Hazaras, once led by the martyred Abdul Ali Mazari and later by Mohammed Mohaqiq, supported by Iran
- National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan - Junbish-I Milli-yi Afghanistan - Made up of Uzbeks and former communists, led by Abdul Rashid Dostum, supported by Turkey
- Islamic Movement of Afghanistan - Harakat-i-Islami-yi Afghanistan - Shia, led by Ayatollah Muhammad Asif Muhsini
- Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan - Ittihad-I Islami Bara-yi Azadi - Led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
The UIF enjoyed support from many countries with political and idealogical interests in Afghanistan. The Taliban were publicly close to Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia until the September 11, 2001 attacks, however now only receive discrete support from them[[Citing sources citation needed]]. This support waned in the wake of the American threats to impose economic sanctions and carry out military retaliation against sympathizers of Taliban.
External links
- [Unlikely U.S. allies in Afghanistan Anti-Taliban coalition is motley band with shady past, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/27/2001]
- [Human Rights Watch about crimes of the Northern Alliance]
- [Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan images of Northern Alliance atrocities]
- [Amir Butler: Who are the Northern Alliance?]
[[sr:Северна Алијанса]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.