SUMMARY

The Taleban is a rebel movement which has primarily been found in Afghanistan, where it has both fought against the government in intrastate armed conflict and been in control of the country. The group has often had problems with in-fighting between different commanders over territory and resources. One such temporary splinter group was the forces controlled by Commander Ali Dad.

The Taleban movement was founded in the mid-1990s and has had as its main goals to overthrow the government of Afghanistan, restore peace and order to the country and to create an Islamic state ruled by sharia law. The word "Taleban" is Pashto and can be translated into "seekers", but the term is most often used to describe students (Talibs) in Islamic schools, which underscores the movements religious focus.

Precise information on the formation of the Taleban is scarce and shrouded in uncertainty, but it is believed that the core leaders began to organize the movement during the first half of 1994. Most of the founding leaders knew each other from before, as they belonged to the southern Durrani Pashto tribes rather than the Ghilzai Pashto tribes which had traditionally constituted the local elites of the Pashto tribes. Many of the top-ranking members, including the chosen leader Mullah Omar, had also often fought together in different Mujahideen factions, as well as studied together at Islamic schools in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

At the time of the formation of the group most of the territory south of Kabul was controlled by forces of the Hizb-i Islami-yi Afghanistan and other Afghan warlords. The groups first violent activities were therefore aimed against these forces, and the group even received support from the government. Having driven off most warlords the Taleban consolidated their control in the south, with the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul becoming the Taleban heartland. These areas are also dominated by the Pashto tribe, from which the Taleban draws the bulk of its support.

In 1996, the forces under Taleban commander Ali Dad fought a rival Taleban commander in Maydan Shar province west of Kabul. After the skirmish Ali Dad’s forces continued to be part of the Taleban movement which took control of Kabul in September 1996 and formed the new government.

The Taleban – Ali Dad faction has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.