In 1998, Afghanistan was a country in turmoil. The Soviet-Afghan War had ended in 1989, but the country was still recovering from the devastation it caused. A civil war between the forces of the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance had been raging since 1992, with no end in sight. The economy was in shambles and poverty was rampant. Inflation and unemployment were rampant as well, leading to widespread hunger and malnutrition among many Afghans. There were also major problems with infrastructure; roads, bridges, and power grids had all been destroyed during the war. Health care facilities were inadequate and limited access to education meant that many Afghans did not have basic literacy skills. The security situation remained volatile with armed groups such as the Taliban operating throughout much of Afghanistan. With a population estimated at around 25 million people living in a landlocked country covering an area of 652,000 square kilometers, Afghanistan faced many challenges as it entered into 1998. See dentistrymyth for Afghanistan in the year of 2015.
Yearbook 1998
Afghanistan. The Taliban militia’s blockade of central Afghanistan continued throughout the winter. The Taliban wanted to stop the flow of weapons to the Shiite Muslim resistance movement in the area. It was not until the end of May that the UN was allowed to bring food to the approximately 600,000 hungry residents. Also affected were the provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan in the northeast, which were shaken by earthquakes in February and May. In total, nearly 6,000 people were killed and dozens of villages destroyed.
According to Countryaah, the capital of Afghanistan is Kabul. An American mediation attempt in the spring seemed to be successful when the parties agreed to meet in Pakistan, but the hope of peace ebbed since disagreement arose, among other things. the composition of the commission of religious scholars who would lead the talks. The war was immediately resumed on all fronts. Neither side suffered any shortage of weapons. In strategically important Afghanistan, which can become a transit country for oil and gas transport from Central Asia, every major armed movement has foreign support. Weapons purchases are financed through opium production, which, according to the UN, increased significantly to more than 3,200 tonnes/year. The Taliban could make big arms purchases in Ukraine. The resistance movement is supported by, among other things, Russia, which fears Taliban Islamism will spread to Central Asia.
In July-August, the Taliban subdued most of northern Afghanistan. In the course of a few weeks, the provinces of Faryab, Jowzjan and Balkh entered the capital of Mazar-e Sharif, the “capital” of the resistance movement. Human rights movements reported that at least 2,000 civilians, most of them Hazar, were murdered in Mazar-e Sharif. This likely happened as revenge for a Taliban massacre in 1997, when they were driven out of town after holding it for four days. In Mazar-e Sharif, the Taliban also killed eight Iranian diplomats and one journalist. The killings led to Iran gathering hundreds of thousands of troops along the Afghan border in a demonstration of strength. In September, the Taliban also conquered Bamian in central Afghanistan, and thus the resistance movement held only small areas in the northeast and the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul.
The relationship between the Taliban and foreign organizations was chilly. The UN removed all foreign personnel after the murder of an Italian UN employee in August. The assassination took place since the United States fired bases in eastern Afghanistan believed to be part of Saudi terrorist Usama bin Laden. Cooperation resumed in October after the Taliban guaranteed staff safety. Foreign voluntary organizations left Kabul for a few months in protest against being ordered to move to premises in a shattered school building.
Danish war crimes in Afghanistan
- Abbreviationfinder: What does AFG stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of Afghanistan.
The Danish documentary Armadillo made by director Janus Metz was first shown in May 2010. The film revealed Danish war crimes in Afghanistan. In the film, Danish soldiers admitted to killing civilians, women and children. At the same time, other soldiers admitted that they wound up Afghan prisoners of war, or warriors who were no longer capable of fighting. Killing civilians is a serious violation of the 4th Geneva Convention, the purpose of which is to secure civilians during war or warlike situations. Liquidation of prisoners of war and incompetents is a gross violation of the 1st Geneva Convention. The film did not lead to prosecution of the guilty soldiers and officers. The government and the Defense Forces thus became complicit in war crimes and in providing impunity for war crimes.
In modern wars, the rule of thumb is that 85-90% of victims are civilians. The same is true in Afghanistan, despite the government’s assurances that those killed are Taliban. In 2009, Danish Hunter soldiers were on a secret mission in Afghanistan that killed 60-70 civilians. The precise circumstances are still kept secret by the government and the military.
In December 2010, for the third time, right-wing Danish politicians tried to ban the religious association, Hezb-ut-Tahrir. The reason was that in the fall of 2010, the association had declared that resistance to the occupying power in Afghanistan – including Danish soldiers – was legitimate. The Danish government initially instructed the Attorney General to investigate the possibility of a legal action against HuT. But in reality, HuT was absolutely right that armed resistance to the occupying power – including Danish soldiers in Afghanistan – was legitimate. The UN Charter recognizes the right of an occupied country to revolt against occupation troops – in the same way that the resistance movement in Europe during World War II was entitled to armed resistance against the Nazi occupying power.
In April 2011, it was revealed that Danish forces in Afghanistan routinely apply white phosphorus to the civilian population. This is in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention.
Also in April, the Eastern Lands Court handed down judgment in the case of the Afghan Ghousouallah Tarin, which in 2002 the Danish military surrendered to North American troops for torture. The High Court found it documented that Tarin was subjected to torture, but at the same time the court has a tradition of keeping a close eye on Danish war crimes and breaches of convention and therefore acquitted the military. The torture convention that Denmark has otherwise ratified clearly states that it is contrary to the convention to hand over prisoners of war when it is known that they are subjected to torture by the soldiers to whom they are assigned. In 2002, Denmark was knowledgeable about US torture practices and was therefore guilty of torture within the meaning of the Convention.
