a long time ago in the 1980s there was a big war in Afghanistan that changed the world for many years this War was between the powerful Soviet Union Army and Afghan Fighters called the mujahedin the mujahadin were brave and strong and even though they were not as big as the Soviet army they fought very hard countries from all over the world watched this fight and some even helped the mujahedin one winter night right before Christmas the Soviet soldiers came into Afghanistan they said they were friends but they did something very sneaky they quickly took over the place where phones and televisions were controlled so they could be in charge of the capital city kabo they even secretly planned and quickly did a mission called operation storm 333 where they got rid of the Afghan president Amin after this the Soviet Union chose a new leader for Afghanistan a man named babra carel he was different from president Amin and they thought he would be better for them in just a short time about 880,000 Soviet soldiers came into Afghanistan through different ways by land and by air their job was to control the big cities and the roads many countries and people did not like what the Soviet Union did a big group called The United Nations even voted to say they were not happy with the Soviet Union the Soviet soldiers said they were just helping Afghanistan but many people did not believe that the people in Afghanistan especially did not like having soldiers from another country in their home they remembered times from the past when they did not like other countries trying to control them now they were ready to fight for their country again that's since the beginning of the Soviet Afghan war it was a big event that many people still talk about today because it changed so much in the world the Soviet Union's presence in Afghanistan was not welcomed by the Afghan people this unpopularity turned into a big chance for the mujahedin who were fighting against the Soviet soldiers they set up their main bases in Pakistan a neighboring country during the war a huge number of of Afghan people about 6 million had to leave their homes this was a really big deal because it was about onethird of all the people in Afghanistan many of them went to Pakistan and Iran to live in camps these camps became places where the mujahidin found new Fighters for their cause at first the Soviet Union tried to keep control only of the big cities and roads they didn't go into the countryside much where the mujahedin was strong but soon things changed the Soviets started to use tougher ways to try and take control of the rural areas too this made the war even more intense the Soviets would attack Villages where they thought the mujahedin were hiding sometimes these Villages were attacked just because the mujahedin had attacked the Soviet Army nearby this made life very hard for the people living in these Villages a Famous Afghan historian said said that the Soviet Union was trying to scare the Afghan people into giving up they did really bad things like hurting people destroying farms and leaving dangerous mines all over the place the Afghan secret police called C also did many bad things making people very afraid but instead of making the Afghan people give up these harsh actions made them want to resist even more the mujahedin strong will to fight was important but they also got a lot of help from other countries the United States saw a chance to challenge the Soviet Union their big rival they started a secret plan called operation Cyclone to give money and help to the mujahedin Pakistan's government led by General zhak also helped a lot they let millions of Afghan people stay in their country and gave places for the mujahedin to train Saudi Arabia promised to match theone the United States gave even China helped the mujahidin even though China was also a communist country like the Soviet Union the mujahedin became a strong force because of their determination and all the help they got they were good at fighting in the mountains and used tactics that made it hard for the Soviet Army to win as the war in Afghanistan went on things started to change in 1985 a new leader named mikil gorbachov came came to power in the Soviet Union he realized that the war in Afghanistan was causing a lot of problems and needed to end so he started preparing to bring the Soviet soldiers back home in 1986 the Soviet Union changed the president of Afghanistan again they brought in Muhammad najibullah who used to be the head of the Afghan secret police he was told to try and make peace with the mujahedin in 1987 a new plan for the country was made this plan was meant to help everyone get along better and it even said that Islam the religion most Afghans follow would have a bigger part in running the country the Afghan government which was supported by the Soviet Union was getting weaker many of its soldiers were leaving they even thought about sharing power with the mujahedin but the mujahedin didn't really want to work with a government that was controlled by the Soviet Union finally in 1988 an important agreement called the Geneva accords was signed this agreement was between Afghanistan the Soviet Union Pakistan and the United States it said that the Soviet soldiers would leave Afghanistan the mujahedin leaders were not part of these talks and they were not happy about it but by February 15th 1989 all Soviet soldiers had left Afghanistan the war had cost the Soviet Union a lot with about 15,000 soldiers lost the war also had a terrible effect on Afghanistan between 500,000 to 2 million Afghans had died and a third of the population had to leave their homes many more were hurt and even after the war ended the danger was not over because the Soviet Union had left many hidden mines all over Afghanistan even even though the Soviet soldiers were gone the fighting in Afghanistan did not stop the mujahedin still had to fight against the Afghan government that the Soviet Union had supported this fight went on for three more years until the government was defeated in 1992 but then something sad happened the different mujahedin groups started fighting each other and this led to a new war that destroyed much of caral the capital city of Afghanistan in 1996 a new group called the Taliban took control of most of Afghanistan they brought an end to the fighting between the mujahedin groups but this was the start of a new chapter in Afghanistan's history which had its own challenges and problems after the Soviet soldiers left Afghanistan big changes happened in the world within just 2 years the Soviet Union itself fell apart this was a huge huge event because the Soviet Union was a very powerful country its end meant that many smaller countries that were part of it became independent the United States which had helped the mujahedin lost some of its interest in Afghanistan after the Soviet Union was gone however they still sent a lot of help to the mujahedin until the Afghan government changed in 1992 this war in Afghanistan also also had a big effect on something called militant Islamic fundamentalism this means groups that use fighting to try and Achieve what they believe in based on their understanding of Islam one famous person who was part of this was Osama bin Laden he had fought with the mujahedin and later started a group called Al-Qaeda even though the Soviet Union was no longer involved Afghanistan's troubles didn't end the majah groups who had had worked together to fight the Soviet Union now started fighting each other this Civil War was very destructive especially in caral and lasted for about 4 years in 1996 the Taliban emerged as a powerful force and took control of most of Afghanistan they brought some stability after years of fighting but their rules and way of governing were very strict especially about religion and the roles of women in societ society today Afghanistan is still facing many challenges the Taliban who are now in control again after a period of conflict with other groups and governments have their own way of running the country they follow strict rules based on their interpretation of Islam this has led to big changes in people's lives especially for women and girls many things like education jobs and personal freedoms are different now compared to how they were the international Community is watching Afghanistan closely some countries are trying to help with things like food and medicine but there are also concerns about human rights and how the Taliban govern the country life in Afghanistan today is shaped by its long history of conflict and the different groups that have been in charge the Afghan people known for their resilience and strength continue to hope for peace and a better future.
