SUMMARY

The forces of Mahmud Khudoberdiyev fought for the Government of Tajikistan, as part of the People’s Front of Tajikistan (PFT), against the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) in the Tajik intrastate armed conflict over government 1992-1997 (see Tajikistan: Government). Khudoberdiyev also attempted to overthrow the Government of Tajikistan on two separate occasions. The first time was in June 1997, when he formed the “Autonomous Defense Council of Central and Southern Tajikistan” and participated in a mutiny in the capital Dushanbe staged by an anti-government faction led by Yaqubjon Salimov and Malik Salihov (also a former PFT commander). The second time was in November 1998, when his forces attacked the Leninobod region and the town of Khujand from across the Tajik-Uzbek border (see Government of Tajikistan – Forces of Khudoberdiyev). The Government of Tajikistan – Forces of Khudoberdiyev dyad was no longer active after 1998, and Khudoberdiyev died in October 2001.

Captain (later Colonel) Mahmud Khudoberdiyev, an ethnic Uzbek, was the only warlord in the Tajik conflict 1992-1997 with solid military background. When the conflict reached the town of Qurghonteppa in 1992, he formed a militia to protect the Uzbek population in the surrounding region from violence and ethnic cleansing. By 1993, Khudoberdiyev had established himself as the dominant warlord in the region around Qurghonteppa. As of 1997, Khudoberdiyev had organized taxation and conscription of the local population. He also had access to a base, 2000 well-equipped fighters, and armored vehicles. Following the formal disbandment of the PFT in April 1993, Khudoberdiyev was one of the warlords who’s support remained central for Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov. Khudoberdiyev however rejected the power-sharing arrangement stipulated in the 1997 peace agreement between the Government of Tajikistan and UTO; he was also aggrieved by the integration of the former UTO rebel forces with the government forces.

In February 1996, Khudoberdiyev openly defied the Government of Tajikistan and offered his support to fellow Uzbek Ibodullo Boimatov, who had been the self-proclaimed mayor of the town Tursunzoda before he was dismissed by President Rakhmonov. When Boimatov returned from exile in Uzbekistan, he and Khudoberdiyev demanded an end to the “Kulobizaion” of state power; the Kulyabi (or Kulob) were a clan from western Tajikistan that had secured control over the Government of Tajikistan in November 1992. President Rakhmonov (himself a Kulyabi) chose to appease Boimatov and Khudoberdiyev, and no fighting occurred. Khudoberdiyev’s behavior largely reflected a growing Uzbek dissatisfaction over the alliance they had made with the Kulyabis.

The nature of the interaction between Khudoberdiyev and other actors was not entirely clear. For example, following his defeat in 1997, Uzbekistan allowed Khudoberdiyev and a significant number of his supporters to cross the border and seek refuge on Uzbek territory, despite promises made to Tajikistan not to do so. While the Government of Uzbekistan, including President Islam Karimov, has denied any formal connections to Khudoberdiyev, it is possible that certain parts of the Uzbek armed forces and border guards supported him and his forces. It may also be that Mahmud’s brother, Ergash Khudoberdiyev, facilitated the supply of ammunition from the Uzbek military to Khudoberdiyev’s forces. The Government of Tajikistan also claims that the 1998 attack was supported by the Uzbek government.