Kunduz massacre

The Kunduz massacre was a war crime perpetrated by the Soviet Army on 22 December 1984 in the village of Haji Rahmatullah in the Kunduz Province, during the Soviet–Afghan War. Around 250 civilians were reportedly killed[1][2] in what was described as Soviet reprisals against civilians for anti-communist resistance members and their military actions aimed against the Red Army.[1]

This article is about the 1984 Soviet war crime. For the 2015 airstrike on a hospital, see Kunduz hospital airstrike.

Kunduz massacre
Part of Soviet–Afghan War
Map of Afghanistan with Kunduz Province highlighted
LocationKunduz Province, Afghanistan
Date22 December 1984
TargetAfghan civilians and anti-communists
Attack type
mass murder, massacre
Deaths~250
Perpetrators Soviet Union
Motivereprisals against civilians for anti-communist resistance members

According to a Helsinki Watch report based on eyerwitness testimony, the Soviet troops entered several villages of Issa Khel in the Char Dara District, Kunduz, on 14 December 1984 in their pursuit of Mujahideen fighters. The Soviet soldiers perpetrated several crimes there, including looting, wanton destruction, rape and murder. In one instance, they threw grenades into a house, killing the inhabitants.[3] On their way back to Kunduz city, the Soviet column was ambushed by Mujahideen. In retaliation, on 22 December the Soviet Army and their collaborators from the Army of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan surrounded the Haji Rahmatullah village,[4] and then proceeded to systematically summary execute people in every house they would enter, including children and women. They would shoot them in the head.[5] Three pregnant women were allegedly mutilated with bayonets.[6] The village was set on fire and burned for five days. People offered the Soviets money, hoping they would bribe them to spare their lives, but were executed anyway. Anyone trying to escape the village was shot.[5] Numerous villagers were locked in houses and killed when the Soviets set fire by throwing grenades inside.[7]

In the aftermath, corpses were found burned. Some women were found lying and holding on to their dead babies. Green flags were placed to pay respect for the deceased buried under rubble.[7] The survivors and the Mujahideen loaded the corpses onto waggons and transported them to Kunduz city, to protest against such acts. Along every village they passed through to Kunduz, they were received by people with tears. At the outskirts of Kunduz, the Governor and the KHAD officers there told them they could not do anything about it, causing outrage among the crowd. When the bodies were returned to Haji Rahmatullah, it was shelled, and thus the burials had to be rushed.[8] One speculation is that the Soviets targeted the area because it was the home province of one of the Mujahideen leaders Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.[6]

See also

References
  1. Bellamy 2012, p. 281.
  2. Laber & Rubin 1988, p. 27.
  3. Helsinki Watch 1985, p. 18.
  4. Laber & Rubin 1988, p. 25.
  5. Helsinki Watch 1985, p. 19.
  6. Sands & Qazizai 2019, p. 193.
  7. Helsinki Watch 1985, p. 20.
  8. Helsinki Watch 1985, pp. 21–22.

Bibliography
  • Bellamy, Alex J. (2012). Massacres and Morality: Mass Atrocities in an Age of Civilian Immunity. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199288427.
  • Laber, Jeri; Rubin, Barnett R. (1988). "A nation is dying": Afghanistan under the Soviets, 1979-87. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 9780810107717. OCLC 1030585463.
  • Sands, Chris; Qazizai, Fazelminallah (2019). Night Letters: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Afghan Islamists Who Changed the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781787383616.
  • Helsinki Watch (1985). "To Die in Afghanistan" (PDF). New York City. OCLC 767650694. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
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