Home > Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance (who prefer the title United Front) were a group of factions who had the common goal of toppling the Taliban regime that was formerly in power in Afghanistan. They fought against the Taliban control that had expanded from Kandahar in 1994 to capture most of Afghanistan by September 2001. The Northern Alliances headquarters were in Mazar-e-Sharif.In November and December of 2001, the Northern Alliance was successful in advancing to control much of the country, including the capital Kabul. This was facilitated by extensive bombing of Taliban forces and military infrastructure by the United States during the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan.
Northern Alliance forces previously showed themselves unable to rule effectively, however, turning on each other after they took control in Kabul in 1992 from the Soviet-backed regime. This bloody feuding between forces loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani and rival factions ultimately cleared the way for the Taliban conquest in 1996.
Many members are ethnic Tajiks (which may be a factor in Tajikistan's willingness to help the United States in the conflict), Uzbeks and HazaraHazaras Geography The Hazara ethnic group resides mainly in the central Afghanistan mountain region called Hazarajat'. They make approximately 15% of Afghanistan's population. There are also significant populations of Hazaras in Pakistan and Iran. Historys - ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. The factions in the Alliance consist of members from the former mujahedin, others from different minority groups and remnants of the former SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ( Russian: ; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR) also called the Soviet Union ( ; tr. Sovetsky Soyuz , was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1-backed communistThis article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. For issues regarding the organization of the communist movement, see the Communist party article. For issues regarding one-par government.
The Northern Alliance enjoys support from IndiaThe Republic of India is a large multicultural country in South Asia, with a population of over one billion. The Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, and is the world's second-fastest growing economy., while the Taliban were close to PakistanIslami Jamhuria Pakistan ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: Iman, Ittehad, Nazm( Urdu: "Faith, Unity, Discipline" Official Language(s) Urdu, English Capital Islamabad Largest City Karachi President General Pervez Musharraf Prime Minister Shaukat Az until the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack when Pakistan backed off due to pressure and the hope of debt relief.
The political leader of the alliance is Burhanuddin Rabbani. There are several military leaders controlling different factions within the alliance, including Abdul Rashid Dostum, General Mohammed Fahim, and Ismail Khan.
Ahmed Shah Massoud was the main military leader and an important political figure in the alliance until his death, which was publicly confirmed on September 13, 2001, following an attack by assassins four days earlier on September 9.
Human rights groups say the Northern Alliance was responsible for brutal excesses during the factional civil strife that raged before the Taliban took over most of the country in 1996.
