The Soviet-Afghan War lasted for nine years, from December 1979 to February 1989. Different groups, known together as the Mujahideen, along with other smaller Maoist groups, fought a horrible war against the Soviet Army and the Republic of Afghanistan government. The battles took place mostly in the rural countryside. The Mujahideen were mostly supported by the United States and Pakistan. Between 562,000 and two million civilians were killed. Millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. Before the arrival of Soviet troops, the Afghanistan Communist Party took power in 1978, placing Nur Mohammad Taraki as the president of Afghanistan. The Communist Party made changes throughout the country that were very unpopular, especially among the more traditional, rural population. The government's harsh treatment of the people led to the rise of armed anti-government groups. By April 1979, large parts of the country were in rebellion. In September 1979, President Taraki was killed under orders of his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hafizullah Amin, which destroyed alliances with the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Afghan war was a very hard, bloody war and many lives were lost. There were more civilians killed than people participating in the war. The war started because of the way the government treated the people so harshly. As the war went on, many bigger nations entered into the conflict. The U.S. wanted to stop the spread of communism and worked to support the Mujahideen to defeat the Soviet Union. Without the help of the U.S. I don’t think that there was any chance that the Afghan people to win. In a way, it seems to me, that the war was the start of many terrorist groups. The war also created a very big refugee population and that was one of the main problems in the region. I enjoyed reading about this past conflict, especially because of how the U.S. is still fighting in Afghanistan and the start of our current battles started with the terrorists in Afghanistan. ( )