Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
Post-Soviet withdrawal civil war among mujahideen and government forces.
The First Afghan Civil War, also called the Afghan Civil War of 1989–1992, began when the Soviet Union completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on 15 February 1989, ending the Soviet–Afghan War. It lasted until 27 April 1992, the day after the Peshawar Accords were announced, which created a new interim Afghan government scheduled to take office on 28 April 1992. During this conflict, mujahideen groups—some loosely united under the banner of the Afghan Interim Government—claimed they were fighting the "puppet regime" of the Republic of Afghanistan in Kabul. In March 1989, the interim government and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attacked Jalalabad but were repelled three months later in the Battle of Jalalabad. After this defeat, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezbi Islami withdrew its support for the interim government. In March 1991, a coalition of mujahideen forces quickly captured Khost. By March 1992, with Soviet support gone, President Mohammad Najibullah agreed to step down and allow a mujahideen coalition government. However, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin refused to negotiate or join the coalition under the Pakistani-backed Peshawar Peace Accords and, with help from Khalqist generals, invaded Kabul. This invasion sparked a civil war on 25 April 1992, initially involving three mujahideen factions, which within weeks grew to five or six.
The roots of the war trace back to October 1978, when opponents of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government—objecting to reforms such as modernized Islamic marriage and civil laws, a Soviet-style red flag, and forced land redistribution—launched a revolt and called themselves mujahideen. Despite a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the 1979 Soviet invasion and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation demanding an immediate withdrawal, the Soviets fought until early 1989. They controlled major cities and strategic sites, which intensified nationalist feelings among rebels, who drew Soviet troops into urban uprisings and tribal warfare. The Soviets destroyed villages, irrigation systems, and laid millions of landmines to suppress the mujahideen. Over nine years, between 500,000 and 2 million Afghans died, millions were displaced, and many fled to neighboring countries. In 1985, new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, under pressure from China, announced in 1987 his intention to withdraw; the withdrawal occurred from May 1988 to February 1989. The mujahideen resistance, which began chaotically in 1978, remained fragmented along regional, ethnic, tribal, and religious lines. After four years, they operated from about 4,000 bases, each commander leading a few hundred men. In 1985, seven larger Sunni Islamic rebel groups coordinated their fight against the Soviets as the Pakistani-backed Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen. After the Soviets left in February 1989, some smaller groups disbanded or joined the government, but the larger mujahideen factions continued fighting the PDPA government of President Najibullah, still heavily supported by the Soviet Union, aiming to establish an Islamist state. Many of these groups, like Jamiat-e Islami, had existed years before the PDPA took power. Leaders such as Ahmad Shah Massoud and Jalaluddin Haqqani had attempted uprisings with Pakistani support in 1974 against the government of Daoud Khan. Those uprisings failed, and the groups fled to Pakistan, where the ISI trained them for a future insurgency against Daoud Khan—who was overthrown by PDPA military officers just four years later.
During the 1980s, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin gained a reputation for attacking other resistance forces, especially those of Massoud, and for raiding or blocking their food, arms, and relief supplies. Author Steve Coll noted that Hekmatyar attacked Massoud so often that Washington, which supported him through Pakistan, feared he might be a secret KGB agent sent to disrupt the anti-communist resistance. Reports suggest Hekmatyar’s commanders were conserving their men and weapons to make Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin the dominant group after the Soviets left. In 1989, Hekmatyar’s forces again attacked Massoud’s group, targeting Massoud and the senior leadership of Shura-e Nazar, Massoud’s alliance of 130 northern commanders. They failed to kill or injure Massoud but tortured thirty of his men to death, some of whom were close friends. Survivors described the torture: eyes pulled out, ears and noses cut off, and stomachs slit open. Massoud then ordered an operation to capture the murderers. Shura-e Nazar caught them but, instead of revenge killings, sent them to Peshawar for trial. The courts sentenced them to death. For Afghan unity, Massoud stated, "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." Throughout 1987–89, Massoud and Hekmatyar frequently fought each other.
- location
- Afghanistan
- belligerents
- Mujahideen groups (including Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, Jamiat-e Islami) vs. Repub
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Mujahideen groups, some united as the Afghan Interim Government, fought the PDPA government of President Mohammad Najibullah, which still received massive Soviet aid valued between two and six billion dollars a year. In March 1989, the interim government and the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attacked the city of Jalalabad and were pushed back three months later in what is known as the Battle of Jalalabad. Hekmatyar's Hezbi Islami pulled their support for the interim government following the defeat. In March 1991, a mujahideen coalition quickly conquered the city of Khost. In March 1992, having lost the last remnants of Soviet support, President Mohammad Najibullah agreed to step aside and make way for a mujahideen coalition government. One mujahideen group, Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, refused to confer and discuss a coalition government under the Pakistani sponsored Peshawar Peace Accords and invaded Kabul with the help of Khalqist Generals. This triggered a civil war, starting on 25 April 1992, between initially three, but within weeks five or six mujahideen groups or armies. During the 1980s, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin developed a reputation for attacking other resistance forces, especially those of Massoud, and raiding or blocking their food and arms supplies. According to author Steve Coll, Hekmatyar attacked Ahmad Shah Massoud so often that Washington 'feared he might be a secret KGB plant whose mission was to sow disruption within the anti-communist resistance.' In 1989, Hekmatyar's forces tortured to death thirty of Massoud's men, some of whom were his close friends. Survivors describe the torture as pulling their eyes out, cutting their ears and noses off, and cutting their stomachs open. Massoud ordered an operation to hunt down the murderers; Shura-e Nazar captured them, and Massoud sent them to Peshawar to have them tried before a court, which sentenced them to death. Through this period (1987–89) both Massoud and Hekmatyar had been frequently fighting each other and killing each other's officers. In 1988, Massoud's forces attacked Hekmatyar loyalists in Badakhshan Province. In 1989, Massoud arrested and executed one of Hekmatyar's local officers, Jamal Agha, whom he accused of having murdered a number of Jamiat commandants. However, Hekmatyar's supporters accused Massoud of having killed these commandants to centralize his authority and framed Agha. The government forces relied on large quantities of Scud missiles: between 1988 and 1992 more than 2,000 of these were fired by the 99th Missile Brigade of the Afghan Armed Forces. It was the largest amount of ballistic missiles used since World War II.
Reader's Guide
The Afghan Civil War of 1989–1992 began immediately after the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989 and ended with the proclamation of the Peshawar Accords in April 1992. The conflict pitted the Soviet-backed Republic of Afghanistan under President Mohammad Najibullah against mujahideen groups, many of which were nominally united under the Afghan Interim Government. The mujahideen considered the Kabul government a hostile puppet regime. In March 1989, the interim government and Pakistani intelligence attacked Jalalabad but were repelled after three months; following this defeat, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islami withdrew its support for the interim government. The mujahideen captured Khost in March 1991. By March 1992, with Soviet support gone, Najibullah agreed to step aside for a coalition government. However, Hekmatyar’s faction refused to join the Peshawar Accords and, aided by Khalqist generals, invaded Kabul on 25 April 1992, triggering a multi-sided civil war among mujahideen groups. This period exposed deep internal rivalries: during the late 1980s, Hekmatyar’s forces had repeatedly attacked those of Ahmad Shah Massoud, torturing and killing thirty of his men. Massoud captured the perpetrators but sent them for trial rather than exacting revenge, appealing for unity. The war’s significance lies in how external backing—Soviet for the government, Pakistani for the mujahideen—combined with factional infighting prevented a peaceful transition, leading directly to further conflict and humanitarian catastrophe.
Did You Know?
- Between 1988 and 1992, the 99th Missile Brigade of the Afghan Armed Forces fired more than 2,000 Scud missiles, the largest amount of ballistic missiles used since World War II.
- In 1989, Hekmatyar's forces tortured to death thirty of Massoud's men, pulling their eyes out, cutting their ears and noses off, and cutting their stomachs open.
- The Battle of Jalalabad in March 1989 saw the Afghan Interim Government and Pakistani ISI attack the city, only to be pushed back three months later.
- In March 1992, President Mohammad Najibullah agreed to step aside after losing the last remnants of Soviet support.
- The civil war starting on 25 April 1992 initially involved three mujahideen groups, but within weeks grew to five or six.
The End of Soviet Patronage and the Fall of Kabul
President Mohammad Najibullah's PDPA government, though stripped of its final Soviet backing, still held the capital. However, Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin refused to participate in the coalition discussions and instead invaded Kabul with the assistance of Khalqist generals. The brief window between the Soviet departure and the Peshawar Accords revealed that the resistance had never been a unified front but a collection of rival factions with competing ambitions for power.
A Resistance Shattered by Its Own Divisions
Yet even this coordination proved fragile. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin developed a notorious reputation for raiding and blocking the food and arms supplies of rival factions, particularly those of Ahmad Shah Massoud. According to author Steve Coll, Hekmatyar attacked Massoud so frequently that Washington, which supported Massoud through Pakistan, feared he might be a secret KGB agent sowing disruption within the anti-communist resistance. The resistance's internal violence ultimately proved as destructive as the Soviet war itself.
From Jalalabad to Khost: Shifting Military Fortunes
The loss proved politically costly: Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami withdrew its support for the interim government following the setback. The pattern across these campaigns showed a resistance capable of both spectacular success and humiliating defeat, with alliances forming and dissolving around immediate tactical interests rather than any shared political vision. Each victory or loss reshaped the fragile coalitions that would ultimately collapse into open civil war among the factions themselves.
The Human Catastrophe and a Nation Shattered
The Soviets leveled villages, destroyed irrigation infrastructure, and laid millions of mines in an effort to root out rebel fighters. The mujahideen response drew Soviet troops into urban uprisings and tribal warfare, acerbating nationalistic sentiment. Even after the Soviet departure, the violence did not abate. The Peshawar Accords, intended to create a unified interim government, instead became the catalyst for a multi-factional war, leaving a nation shattered by internal conflict, its infrastructure destroyed, and its political institutions reduced to competing armies with no shared vision for governance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Afghan Civil War (1989–1992) important?
It is the direct aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal and shows how quickly the mujahideen split into rival factions once their common external enemy disappeared. That fragmentation created the power vacuum that ultimately allowed the Taliban to seize control years later.
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