Civil war in Afghanistan ( 1989 – 92 ) The 1989 to 1992 phase of the Afghan Civil War began after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan , leaving the Afghan communist government to fend for itself against the Mujahideen . After several years of fighting , the government fell in 1992 . However , the civil war continued with insurgents such as the Taliban attempting to bring down the new government . War against the Afghan communist Najibullah - regime . Military assets of the Afghan communists . After the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989 , the U . S . intelligence agencies expected the PDPA regime to collapse within three to six months . However , this estimation did not take into account several assets available to the government . The first of these was the large quantities of military hardware donated by the Soviet Union . In 1989 , the army and pro - government militia s still had 1568 tank s , 828 armoured personnel carrier s , 4880 artillery pieces , 126 modern fighter - bombers and 14 attack helicopter s . Also , the DRA continued to receive massive aid from the Soviet Union , valued between two and six billion dollars a year , and Soviet military advisors were still present in Afghanistan . The government forces also came to rely on the use of large quantities of Scud missiles : between 1988 and 1992 more than 2000 of these were fired inside Afghanistan , the largest amount of ballistic missiles used since World War II . This considerable amount of firepower was sufficient to keep the mujahideen at bay . Another strength of the DRA were the pro - government militia s , of which the most effective was Abdul Rashid Dostum ' s Jozjani militia , officially called the 53rd Infantry Division . Numbering 40 , 000 men drawn from the Uzbek minority , it took its orders directly from Najibullah , who used it as a strategic reserve . After 1989 , this force was the only one capable of carrying out offensive operations . Meanwhile , some of the mujahideen benefited from expanded foreign military support from the United States , Saudi Arabia , Pakistan , China , and other nations . The primary beneficiary of U . S . support , delivered through its middleman Pakistan , was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar . The primary beneficiaries of Saudi support , especially financial one , were Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and Jalaluddin Haqqani who had had strong contacts to Arab fighters in the war against the Soviets . The U . S . provided Ahmad Shah Massoud with close to no support despite the Wall Street Journal calling him " the Afghan who won the cold war " and was primarily responsible for the mujahideen victory . Part of the reason why he still got only minor support was that the U . S . permitted its funding and arms distribution to be administered by Pakistan , which favored Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who considered himself the archenemy of Massoud . Massoud was also seen as " too independent " . Primary advocates for still supporting Massoud instead were State Department ' s Edmund McWilliams and Peter Tomsen , who were on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan . Others included two Heritage Foundation foreign policy analysts , Michael Johns and James A . Phillips , both of whom championed Massoud as the Afghan resistance leader most worthy of U . S . support under the Reagan Doctrine . During the Sino - Soviet split , strained relations between China and Soviet Russia resulted in bloody border clashes and mutual backing for the opponents enemies . China and Afghanistan had neutral relations with each other during the King ' s rule . When the pro Soviet Afghan Communists seized power in Afghanistan in 1978 , relations between China and the Afghan communists quickly turned hostile . The Afghan pro Soviet communists supported China ' s enemies in Vietnam and blamed China for supporting Afghan anti communist militants . China responded to the Soviet war in Afghanistan by supporting the Afghan mujahideen and ramping up their military presence near Afghanistan in Xinjiang . China acquired military equipment from America to defend itself from Soviet attack . The Chinese People ' s Liberation Army trained and supported the Afghan mujahideen during the war . The training camps were moved from Pakistan into China itself . Anti - aircraft missiles , rocket launchers and machine guns , valued at hundreds of millions , were given to the mujahideen by the Chinese . Chinese military advisors and army troops were present with the Mujahidin during training . Battle of Jalalabad . By the spring of 1989 , the Afghan government showed no signs of falling apart , and the American and Pakistan supporters of some of the mujahideen decided to hasten its demise . An operation was planned , under the impulsion of U . S . ambassador to Pakistan Robert B . Oakley , and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto , to capture Jalalabad . The Americans and the Pakistanis both wanted a conventional victory , each for their own reasons . The Americans wished to humiliate the Marxists , and send them out of Afghanistan " clinging to their helicopters " , and thus avenge the American defeat in Vietnam . Pakistani wished to retaliate against the Soviet Union as the latter had long unconditionally supported the former ' s regional rival , India . Upon conclusion of the battle , Pakistan intended to install a new government under Gulbuddin Hekmatyar with its provisional capital based in Jalalabad . The Pakistan - backed Afghan Interim Government included Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as Prime Minister and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf as Foreign Minister . The central organizer of the offensive on the Pakistani side was Lieutenant - General Hamid Gul , Director - General of the " ISI " . Battle begins . Involved in the operation were forces of Hekmatyar ' s Hezb - i Islami , Abdul Rasul Sayyaf ' s Ittihad - i Islami and Arab fighters , totalling 10 , 000 men . The attack began on March 5 , 1989 , and went well at first for the mujahideen , who captured the village of Samarkhel and the Jalalabad airfield . When government troops started to surrender , however , they , along with unarmed civilians , were tortured and executed by Hekmatyar ' s and Sayyaf ' s forces , making the option of surrender impossible for the communists who then fought harder . Consequently , the attacking forces were soon blocked by the main Afghan army positions held by the 11th Division , that were protected by bunker s , barbed wire and minefields . The government troops could count on intensive air support , as the Afghan air force flew up to 100 to 120 sorties a day over the battlefield . An - 12 transport aircraft , modified to carry bombs , flew at high altitude out of range of the Stinger missile s used by the mujahideen ; cluster bomb s were used intensively . Three Scud firing batteries , deployed around Kabul and manned by Soviet troops fired more than 400 missiles in support of the Jalalabad garrison . Despite their imprecision , these weapons had a severe effect on the morale of the mujahideen , who could do nothing to prevent them . By the middle of May , they had made no headway against the defenses of Jalalabad , and were running low on ammunition . In July , they were unable to prevent the Afghan Army from recapturing Samarkhel , and Jalalabad was still firmly in the hands of Najibullah ' s government . The mujahideen suffered an estimated 3 , 000 casualties during this battle . An estimated number of 12 , 000 – 15 , 000 civilians were killed , while 10 , 000 had fled the fighting . Aftermath . Contrary to U . S . and Pakistani expectations , this battle proved that the Afghan Army could fight without Soviet help , and greatly increased the confidence of government supporters . Conversely , the morale of the mujahideen involved in the attack slumped and many local commanders of Hekmatyar and Sayyaf concluded truces with the government . In the words of Brigadier - General Mohammed Yousaf , an officer of the ISI , " the jihad [ meaning the plans for Hekmatyar to be installed as prime minister ] never recovered from Jalalabad " . Both the Pakistani and the United States governments were frustrated with the outcome . As a result of this failure , General Hamid Gul was immediately sacked by Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto , and replaced with General Shamsur Rahman Kallu as the Director - General of the " ISI " . Kallu pursued a more classical policy of support to the Afghan guerillas . The government forces further proved their worth in April 1990 , during an offensive against a fortified complex at Paghman . After a heavy bombardment and an assault that lasted until the end of June , the Afghan army , spearheaded by Dostum ' s militia , was able to clear the mujahideen entrenchments . Domestic Criticism . The Jalalabad operation was seen as a grave mistake by some mujahideen leaders such as Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Haq , who considered that the mujahideen did not have the capacity to capture a major city in conventional warfare . Neither Massoud nor Haq had participated in the attack on Jalalabad . Massoud even said it was by BBC radio that he learned about the operation . Haq advocated the pursuit of coordinated guerilla warfare , that would gradually weaken the communist regime and cause its collapse through internal divisions . Abdul Haq was also quoted as asking : " How is that we Afghans , who never lost a war , must take military instructions from the Pakistanis , who never won one ? " Ahmad Shah Massoud criticized the go - it - alone attitude of Pakistan and their Afghan followers stating : " The damage caused by our [ meaning the mujahideen forces ] lack of a unified command is obvious . There is a total lack of coordination , which means we are not launching simultaneous offensives on different fronts . As a result the government can concentrate its resources and pick us off one by one . And that is what has happened at Jalalabad . " Success of some resistance forces . The forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud , that were in north to central Afghanistan , controlled the strategically important Salang highway and made steady progress to capture the Bagram airbase just outside Kabul . After an eleven - year siege , Khost fell to Jalaluddin Haqqani ' s troops , that were in east Afghanistan , on April 11 , 1991 , following a negotiated surrender of the communist garrison . Attacks by Hekmatyar on other resistance forces . According to published reports during the 1980s , Hekmatyar ' s Hezb - i Islami developed a reputation for attacking other resistance forces , especially those of Ahmad Shah Massoud , and raiding or blocking their food and arms supplies as well as caravans of relief organizations . According to author Steve Coll , Hekmatyar attacked Ahmad Shah Massoud so often that Washington ( who was supporting him through Pakistan ) " feared he might be a secret KGB plant whose mission was to sow disruption within the anti - communist resistance . " Reports suggest that Hekmatyar ' s commanders were saving their men and weapons to establish Hezb - i Islami as the dominant organization once the Soviets departed . In 1989 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ' s forces once again conducted an attack on forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud , this time targeting Massoud and the senior leadership of Shura - i Nazar – Massoud ' s military and political alliance of 130 northern commanders . While they were not able to kill or injure Massoud , Hekmatyar ' s forces killed and tortured to death 30 of Massoud ' s men , some of whom were close friends of Massoud . Survivors describe the torture as pulling their eyes out , cutting their ears and noses off , and cutting their stomachs open . Massoud consequently ordered an operation to hunt down the murderers . Shura - i Nazar were able to capture the assassins , but instead of revenge killings , Massoud sent them to Peshawar to have them tried before a court . The courts sentenced them to death . Ahmad Shah Massoud for the sake of Afghan unity declared : " My message to Hekmatyar ' s people is that without a united front we cannot succeed , we cannot achieve anything in Afghanistan . " Roy Gutman of the United States Institute of Peace considered Massoud “ the only Afghan leader with an integrated vision ” . Growing weakness of the Najibullah regime . Internal dissensions . Despite its military successes , the communist regime was still plagued by its traditional internal divisions , namely the opposition between the Khalq and Parcham factions . The DRA defense minister , Shahnawaz Tanai , disagreed with Najibullah ' s policy of National Reconciliation with the mujahideen . Also he had become convinced that his Khalq faction was losing its share of power in favour of Najibullah ' s Parcham . For these reasons he entered in secret negotiations with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , and plotted against Najibullah . Launched on 6 March 1990 , his coup failed , despite almost killing Najibullah , and Tanai was forced to flee to Pakistan , where he joined Hekmatyar . A severe repression followed , as Najibullah ordered the army to be purged of Tanai ' s supporters . In the ensuing fighting , several airports were bombarded , damaging 46 military aircraft . This episode reinforced Najibullah ' s suspicions and led him to govern through his personal allies rather than the government apparatus , further deepening the rift between Khalqis and Parchamis . Economic crisis . By 1992 , Afghanistan was in dire straits . Reserves of natural gas , Afghanistan ' s only export , had dried out since 1989 , rendering the country completely dependent on Soviet aid . This amounted to 230 , 000 tons of food per year , but by 1991 , the Soviet economy was itself faltering , preventing the Soviets from fulfilling their commitments . In August 1991 , following his arrival in power , Boris Yeltsin announced that all direct assistance to Najibullah ' s regime would be curtailed . In January 1992 , the Afghan Air Force , which had proved vital to the survival of the regime , could no longer fly any aircraft through lack of fuel . The army suffered from crippling food shortages , causing the desertion rate to rise by 60 percent between 1990 and 1991 . The pro - government militias that had grown to replace the army in many of its assignments , were faithful to the regime only so long as it could deliver enough weapons to enable them to conserve their power . With the end of the Soviet aid , the government could no longer satisfy these demands , and the loyalty of the militias began to waver . Finally , after negotiations between communist General Dostum and Ahmad Shah Massoud , the Junbish militia defected to the mujahideen . This reversal of fortunes effectively turned the tables in favour of the resistance , and forced Najibullah to resign . Fall of Kabul . With the end of the Soviet Union , Najibullah ' s regime lost all credibility and by 1992 , after a Russian decision to end fuel shipments to Afghanistan , Najibullah ' s regime began to collapse . In April 1992 , General Abdul Rashid Dostum defected to the forces of Ahmed Shah Massoud and began to take control of Kabul . On April 14 , 1992 it was confirmed that Massoud and his forces had taken Charikar and Jabalussaraj in Parwan province with only minimal fighting . At this point it was reported that Massoud had approximately 20 , 000 troops stationed around Kabul . It was further reported that the Government ' s Second Division had joined Massoud . General Mohammad Nabil Azimi then proceeded to reinforce Bagram Air Base and sent further reinforcements to the outer perimeter of Kabul . By mid - April the air force command at Bagram had capitulated to Massoud . With no army to defend it , Kabul had become completely defenseless . Najibullah had lost internal control immediately after he announced his willingness on March 18 to resign in order to make way for a neutral interim government . As the government broke into several factions the issue had become how to carry out a transfer of power . Najibullah attempted to flee from Kabul on April 17 , but was stopped by Dostum ' s troops who controlled Kabul International Airport . Najibullah then took refuge at the United Nations mission where he remained until 1995 . A group of Parchami generals and officials declared themselves an interim government for the purpose of handing over power to the dominant and most popular military force : Massoud . Massoud was hesitant to enter Kabul , waiting for the political parties to reach a peace and power - sharing agreement first . In April 1992 , with the Peshawar Accords , an interim government was formed with a Supreme Leadership Council , and a transitory presidency that was given to Sibghatullah Mojaddedi for two months , after which Burhanuddin Rabbani was to succeed him . Hekmatyar was given the post of Prime Minister , but he did not accept this position for he did not want to share power and Pakistan was urging him to take power for himself . Massoud in a recorded conversation tried to convince Hekmatyar to join the peace agreement and not to enter Kabul . But Hekmatyar replied he would enter the capital with " our naked sword . No one can stop us . " Hekmatyar ' s Hezb - i Islami forces began to infiltrate Kabul . This forced Massoud to advance on the capital in order to preserve the Peshawar Accords and prevent the establishment of a Hekmatyar dictatorship . The different Mujahideen groups entered Kabul from different directions . Hezb - i Islami made the first move and entered the city from the south . Hekmatyar had asked other groups such as Harakat - Inqilab - i - Islami and Khalis faction to join him while entering Kabul , but they declined his offer and instead backed the Peshawar Accords like Massoud . Hekmatyar ' s men were armed and financed by Pakistan . Jamiat - i Islami had seized massive amount of weapons while overrunning the communist garrisons in Bagram , Charikar , Takhar , Kunduz , Fayzabad and other northern cities . Adding to that , all the forces of Abdul Rashid Dostum ' s Junbish - i Milli had aligned themselves to the Jamiat , and the former communist government of Afghanistan had decided to surrender all its weapons to Jamiat , instead of Hezb . All the Parchamis had fled abroad through the Jamiat controlled areas . Jamiat had seized massive stockpiles of heavy weapons such as T - 62 and T - 55 tanks , Scud missiles and MiG - 21 s . The Hezb forces were very far from key points of the city such as the Presidential Palace , Prime Minister ' s office , Kabul International Airport , the Defense Ministry and many other important government offices , and much of the city lies in the North Bank of the Kabul River . The Jamiat forces quickly took control of these strategically important offices . Although Hezb forces got to the gates of Ministry of Justice and had got control of Ministry of Interior , they were quickly repulsed after bombing from the Afghan Air Force , which was supported from artillery shells fired from TV Tower onto Jade Maiwand . Hundreds of Hezb Fighters were killed or taken prisoners including some foreign fighters . In the western sector of the city , the Hezb forces crossed the Kabul River and arrived at the northern bank after taking control of the Karta - e Seh area . While charging towards the Kote Sangi and Kabul University , Sayyaf ' s forces attacked Hezb forces from the Ghazi School area in a surprise move , and the Hezb forces were separated into two groups after being cut off by Jamiat forces . Throughout the night , the exhausted and demoralized forces of Hezbi Islami , fought on , some to the bitter end . After suffering heavy casualties , Hezb forces in the southern bank fled out of Kabul towards Logar and deserted their positions . Kabul came completely under Islamic State control on April 30 , 1992 , but the situation was far from stabilized . The Hezb - i Islami had been driven out , but they were still within artillery range , and soon started firing tens of thousands of rockets into the city supplied by Pakistan . When the Hekmatyar ' s forces had overrun Pul - e - Charkhi prison while still in the centre of Kabul , they had set free all the inmates , including many criminals , who were able to take arms and commit gruesome exactions against the population . With the government institutions either collapsing or participating in the factional fighting , maintaining order in Kabul became almost impossible . The scene was set for the next phase of the war . ( documentary film directly from the year 1989 explaining the beginning of the turmoil to follow ) ( from 1992 , one month after the collapse of the communist regime , after Hekmatyar was repelled to the southern outskirts of Kabul , before he started the heavy bombardment of Kabul with the support of Pakistan )