Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)

The 1996–2001 Afghan Civil War, also known as the Third Afghan Civil War, took place between the Taliban's conquest of Kabul and their establishing of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on 27 September 1996, and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October 2001: a period that was part of the Afghan Civil Wars that had started in 1989, and also part of the conflict (in wider sense) in Afghanistan that had started in 1978.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan government remained the recognized government of Afghanistan by most of the international community. The Taliban's Islamic Emirate government, however, received recognition from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Vox on YouTube.

The defense minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, created the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance) in opposition to the Taliban. The United Front included all Afghan ethnicities: Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Turkmens, some Pashtuns and others. During the conflict, the Taliban received military support from Pakistan and financial support from Saudi Arabia. Al-Qaeda supported the Taliban with thousands of local and foreign fighters from Pakistan, Arab countries, and Central Asia.

Main participants

Ahmad Shah Massoud (for the United Islamic Front for the Salvation (Northern Alliance) and the Islamic State of Afghanistan), Mullah Omar (for the Taliban) and Osama bin Laden together with Ayman al-Zawahiri (for al-Qaeda and different Arab interests) were the main leaders of the war residing in Afghanistan. There were other leaders, mainly from Pakistan (like Pervez Musharraf and later General Mahmud Ahmed) on the one side and from the United Front (i. e. Haji Abdul Qadeer, Abdul Rashid Dostum) on the other side, who, however, were not always present in Afghanistan itself. The quality of life of the Afghan population was heavily dependent on the specific leader who was directly controlling the area in which they lived. Sharp contrasts existed regarding life and structures in different areas.

United Front (Northern Alliance) Ahmad Shah Massoud Throughout much of its operational history, the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance) was headed by Ahmad Shah Massoud, a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the nickname Lion of Panjshir. His followers also call him Āmer Sāheb-e Shahīd (Our Beloved Martyred Commander). The Wall Street Journal at that time dedicated one of its covers to Massoud, calling him "the Afghan who won the Cold War". Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah, Massoud became the Defense Minister in 1992 under the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani. Following the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military commander of the United Islamic Front.

Massoud was a deeply religious and spiritual person who strongly opposed the interpretations of Islam followed by the Taliban or Al-Qaeda. A Sunni Muslim, he also always carried a book of Sufi mystic al-Ghazali with him.

The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined for he did not fight for the sake of power. He explained in one interview:

Massoud was convinced that only a democratic system could ensure a lasting peace in Afghanistan. He wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards democratic elections in a foreseeable future.

On September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States, Massoud was assassinated in Takhar Province of Afghanistan by suspected al-Qaeda agents. The funeral, although taking place in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people. The following year, he was named "National Hero" by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The date of his death, September 9, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as "Massoud Day".Afghanistan Events , Lonely Planet Travel Guide. The year following his assassination, in 2002, Massoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace PrizeNational Holiday Dates , Massoud Day and Nobel Peace Prize Nomination (which, incidentally, is never awarded posthumously).

One refugee, who cramped his family of 27 into an old jeep to flee from the Taliban to the area of Massoud, described Massoud's territory as "the last tolerant corner of Afghanistan". About his life in Massoud's area he stated: "I feel freedom here. I like ... you know, nobody bothers me. I do my job. I take care of my family. The way which I like I live in this area." Massoud had no influence on the lives of people living in the areas of Abdul Rashid Dostum who had joined the United Front to fight the Taliban.

In Massoud's area, women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa. They were allowed to work and to go to school. In at least two known instances, Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage. While it was Massoud's stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights, he also had to deal with Afghan traditions, which he said would need a generation or more to overcome. In his opinion, that could be achieved only through education.

Massoud created democratic institutions that were structured into several committees: political, health, education and economic. Still, many people came to him personally when they had a dispute or problem and asked him to solve their problems.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the Taliban to the areas of Massoud. In 2001, Massoud and photographer and former UN ambassador Reza Deghati described the bitter situation of the Afghan refugees and asked for humanitarian help.

Abdul Rashid Dostum Following the rise of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and their capture of Kabul, Abdul Rashid Dostum aligned himself with the Northern Alliance (United Front) against the Taliban. The Northern Alliance was assembled in late 1996 by Dostum, Ahmad Shah Massoud and Karim Khalili against the Taliban. At this point he is said to have had a force of some 50,000 men supported by both aircraft and tanks.

Much like other Northern Alliance leaders, Dostum also faced infighting within his group and was later forced to surrender his power to General Abdul Malik Pahlawan. Malik entered into secret negotiations with the Taliban, who promised to respect his authority over much of northern Afghanistan, in exchange for the apprehension of Ismail Khan, one of their enemies.De Ponfilly, Christophe(2001); Massoud l'Afghan; Gallimard; ; p. 75 Accordingly, on 25 May 1997, Malik arrested Khan, handed him over and let the Taliban enter Mazar-i-Sharif, giving them control over most of northern Afghanistan. Because of this, Dostum was forced to flee to Turkey.page 6-8 - However, Malik soon realized that the Taliban were not sincere with their promises as he saw his men being disarmed. He then rejoined the Northern Alliance, and turned against his erstwhile allies, driving them from Mazar-i-Sharif. In October 1997, Dostum returned from exile and retook charge. After Dostum briefly regained control of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban returned in 1998 and he again fled to Turkey.

Haji Abdul Qadeer Haji Abdul Qadeer ( in Jalalabad, Afghanistan – July 6, 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan) (Arabic: الحاج عبد القادر) was a prominent Pashtun anti-Taliban leader in the United Front. He was the brother of Abdul Haq, a well-known resistance leader against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Qadeer's family was a traditionally powerful one, with ties to former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah. Haji Abdul Qadeer had a base of power in the east of Afghanistan and was the governor of his home province of Nangarhar before the Taliban took power.

Qadeer became the Vice President of Afghanistan in the post-Taliban administration of Hamid Karzai. On July 6, 2002, Qadeer and his son-in-law were killed by gunmen. Another of his sons, Haji Mohammed Zaher, was shot dead in Kabul also in 2002.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) Mohammed Omar headed the Taliban forces during the Afghan civil war. Mullah Omar declared himself Amir-ul-Momineen (Commander of the Faithful). was rarely photographed and rarely spoke to journalists directly. Many saw Mullah Omar as a nominal figure trained and controlled by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI."Mullah Mohammed Omar". Afghanistan Online. November 18, 2007

Followers of the Taliban claim that Mullah Omar was born in the central province of Uruzgan, in 1962. Other sources place his birth in Kandahar, . They also say that he studied in several Islamic schools outside of Afghanistan, especially in Quetta, Pakistan. In the 1980s he joined the resistance against the Soviet invasion. It is believed that he lost his eye fighting the Soviets as a deputy Chief Commander in the Harakat-i Islami party of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. In 1994, Mullah Omar seized power in Kandahar by overthrowing the local gangs and militias in a first appearance of the Taliban movement.Gall, Carlotta. "Mullah Muhammad Omar, Enigmatic Leader of the Afghan Taliban, is Dead." New York Times International. 31 July 2015.

Mullah Omar had strong links with another popular figure in world politics: Osama bin Laden. He was married to one of bin Laden's daughters. He refused several US requests to hand over Osama bin Laden, who was killed in May 2011 in a covert operation conducted by members of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Central Intelligence Agency SAD/SOG operators on the orders of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Analysis from the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) states: "The Taliban is the first faction laying claim to power in Afghanistan that has targeted women for extreme repression and punished them brutally for infractions. To PHR's knowledge, no other regime in the world has methodically and violently forced half of its population into virtual house arrest, prohibiting them on pain of physical punishment ..."

After taking control of the capital city of Kabul on September 27, 1996, the Taliban issued edicts forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. In public, women had to be covered from head to toe in a burqa – a body-length covering with only a mesh opening to see through. Women were not permitted to wear white socks or shoes, or shoes that make a noise while they are being walked in. Also, houses and buildings had to have their windows painted over so women could not be seen inside. Women were practically banned from public life, denied access to health care, education, and work and they were not allowed to laugh in a manner they could be heard by others.

The Taliban, without any real court or hearing, cut people's hands or arms off when accused of theft. Taliban hit-squads from the infamous "Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" watched the streets conducting brutal, public beatings of people when they saw what they considered as un-Islamic behavior.

Pakistan