Liberation Day Afghanistan is observed annually on February 15 in Afghanistan to commemorate the full withdrawal of Soviet forces from the nation on the same date in 1989. Nearly 2 million Afghani people were killed during the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted nearly a decade. The Soviet-Afghan war was a proxy conflict conducted during the Cold War between the Soviet Army and the Mujahideen, supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. By the end of the conflict in 1989, over 11.5% of Afghanistan’s population had been lost. In addition, seven million Afghans were either internally displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.
HISTORY OF LIBERATION DAY AFGHANISTAN
The history of Afghanistan’s Liberation Day is the history of the Soviet-Afghan conflict, which began with the Saur Revolution in 1978. The coup that overthrew President Mohammed Daoud Khan’s authoritarian administration and brought the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan to power was the revolution (P.D.P.A.). When the P.D.P.A. took control, they established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and appointed Nur Muhammad Taraki as its first prime minister. On December 5, that same year, Afghanistan signed an alliance with the Soviet Union.
As a result of the drastic reforms implemented by the administration led by Taraki, a rebellion erupted across the country, and by 1979, the country was in a state of civil war. Hafizullah Amin, the country’s vice-prime minister, killed Nur Mohammad Taraki in September 1979 and gained control of the government. However, the Soviet government was dissatisfied with this scenario, and the possibility of Afghanistan defecting to the U.S. side on December 24, 1979 prompted the Soviet Army to invade the nation. On December 27, Amin was assassinated, and Babrak Kamal was inaugurated as prime minister. This essentially commenced the Soviet-Afghan conflict.
This invasion of Afghanistan shook the globe, and the Soviet Union was condemned by several Islamic states and the West. In 1980, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution denouncing the Soviet incursion by a vote of 104 to 18. The Mujahideen insurgents began to receive backing in the form of military training, funding, and aid, primarily from Pakistan, with assistance from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Arab states.
On May 15, 1988, after nearly nine years of conflict with the Mujahideen rebels, the Soviet Union began withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan. By February 15, 1989, the Soviet government had withdrawn all of its soldiers from Afghanistan, leaving the Afghan government to fight the rebels on its own. This marked the conclusion of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.
The majority of historians and scholars viewed the conflict as one of the major elements that contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and prompted the United States to launch its own war in Afghanistan in 2001.
International Childhood Cancer Day 2023: Date, History, Five facts
Day of Ashakalia 2023: Date, History, Facts about Kosovo
The Soviet-Afghan War: Five Fascinating Facts
The Soviet-Afghan War was one of the many proxy conflicts conducted during the Cold War between the communist Soviet Union, the democratic United States, and their respective allies.
Afghanistan became one of the poorest and most undeveloped countries in the world as a result of the Soviet-Afghan War.
Due to the duration of the conflict, the number of losses on both sides, and the manner in which the Soviet Union was expelled from Afghanistan, the Soviet-Afghan War was dubbed the “Soviet Union’s Vietnam War.”
Approximately 6.5% to 11.5%, or 562,000 to 2,000,000 Afghans, perished throughout the battle.
According to experts, the Soviet-Afghan War contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992.
LIBERATION DAY AFGHANISTAN DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | February 15 | Wednesday |
| 2024 | February 15 | Thursday |
| 2025 | February 15 | Saturday |
| 2026 | February 15 | Sunday |
| 2027 | February 15 | Monday |
