Ittehad-i-Islami

The Ittehad-i-Islami (Islamic Union) was one of the major Mujahideen factions that fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a Pashtun from Paghman with strong Arab connections, the faction was known for its staunch Islamist ideology and close ties to foreign financiers. Sayyaf was a stout Muslim who had taught Islam at Kabul University during the days of the monarchy, and his faction was among those that received significant support from Arab sources, giving it a distinct ideological and financial profile among the resistance groups.

Role in the Mujahideen Victory and the Fall of Kabul

After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's communist regime in April 1992, the Ittehad-i-Islami was one of the victorious Mujahideen factions that entered Kabul. Alongside other groups such as Jamiat-e-Islami (led by Rabbani and Massoud), Hezb-e-Islami (led by Hekmatyar), Junbish-i-Milli (led by Dostum), and Hizb-e-Wahdat (the Hazara faction), the Ittehad-i-Islami was part of the fractious coalition that briefly held power. However, the unity quickly dissolved as the factions turned on each other, and the Ittehad-i-Islami became a central actor in the ensuing civil war.

Sectarian Violence and the War Against Hazaras

In June 1992, heavy fighting erupted in West Kabul between the Pashtun forces of the Ittehad-i-Islami and the Hazara forces of the Hizb-e-Wahdat faction. The shelling knocked down power lines and pulverized entire blocks of shops and homes. Pashtun militiamen from the Ittehad-i-Islami were reported to be attacking Hazara households, breaking in and shooting entire families execution-style. In retaliation, Hazaras abducted Pashtun civilians, raped Pashtun girls, shelled Pashtun neighborhoods, and killed indiscriminately. Every day, bodies were found tied to trees, sometimes burned beyond recognition, often with their eyes gouged out and tongues cut out. The Ittehad-i-Islami's role in this sectarian bloodshed cemented its reputation for brutality and contributed to the widespread suffering of Kabul's civilian population.

Alliance with Massoud and Continued Conflict

During the factional wars, the Ittehad-i-Islami aligned itself with Ahmad Shah Massoud's Jamiat-e-Islami forces. Sayyaf sided with Massoud against Hekmatyar, who had the support of Pakistan. This alliance, however, did not bring peace. The Ittehad-i-Islami continued to fight against the Hazaras of Hizb-e-Wahdat and other rival factions, and the city remained a battlefield. The faction's involvement in the looting, murder, and rape that characterized the period made it one of the many armed groups that terrorized the capital. The Ittehad-i-Islami's fighters were known for their extreme Islamist views, which later found common cause with the Taliban's ideology, though the faction itself was eventually sidelined by the Taliban's rise to power in 1996.

Legacy and Significance

The Ittehad-i-Islami's legacy is one of sectarian violence and ideological extremism. Its leader, Sayyaf, was later allowed back into Kabul after the fall of the Taliban, becoming a symbol of the impunity enjoyed by warlords who had committed atrocities during the civil war. The faction's actions, particularly its targeting of Hazara civilians, deepened ethnic and sectarian divisions in Afghanistan and left a lasting scar on the country's social fabric. The Ittehad-i-Islami represents the destructive potential of armed factions that, having lost a common enemy, turned their weapons on their own people, contributing to the cycle of violence that defined Afghanistan's late 20th century.