SUMMARY
Animosities between Ismail Khan and Amanullah Khan in Herat province go back many years and are to some extent based on personal grievances, brought on by the two’s rivalry over supremacy of the said province. After the fall of the Taliban Ismail Khan seized control of Herat (the city and the province) and thus also took control of the lucrative border trade with Iran as well as other economic resources. One consequence of the border trade with Iran has been that Herat city became one of Afghanistan’s most developed urban centers, making it a prized jewel for any warlord seeking to indulge himself. It was thus no surprise that Amanullah Khan, as well as the central government in Kabul, harbored the ambition to share in the spoils. A non-state conflict between the Fores of Amanullah Khan and the Forces of Ismail Khan, over control of the province, broke out in 2002 and continued in 2004.
Amanullah Khan, who initiated the conflict through attacking the Forces of Ismail Khan, did however not frame the conflict in terms of economic interests or personal grievances. He instead painted the conflict in ethnic terms, stating that although the province is ethnically dominated by the Pashtun, Ismail Khan had not appointed any Pasthun officials to governor’s offices (Ismail Khan being a Tajik). After the initial fighting the conflict began to be described even more in terms of ethnicity, with Pashtuns claiming systematic persecution by Tajik soldiers (meaning Ismail Khan’s forces) and a targeted campaign against them. Later, Amanullah Khan denied initiating the fighting, claiming that he attacked in self-defense since Ismail Khan’s forces tried to evict his fighters from the province. Amanullah Khan also chose to present the conflict as a local “uprising” by “oppressed Pashtuns” in the area. The truth of the causes behind the conflict is disputed.
It would appear that the central government in Kabul under Karzai was involved in the instigation of the fighting, at least in 2004, to some degree. Central government officials had long complained that Ismail Khan pocketed tariffs from the border trade and that he ignored government appointments to his administration. Ismail Khan also accused the central government of involvement on the side of his enemies, describing it as a Pashtun plot to remove him from power. At the least, it was in the government’s interest to reign in the unruly governor of Herat.
Fighting between the two warlords has been concentrated only to the Herat province in western Afghanistan, mainly taking place in an area surrounding the Shindand airbase, a strategic military facility built by the Soviets. The fighting around this facility took the shape of clashes in the surrounding villages, and at the airbase itself, with both forces trying to seize territory to drive the other away. The forces mainly clashed with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and mortars, but also made use of artillery and tanks.
Fighting in 2002 was inconclusive, but in 2004 the Fores of Amanullah Khan seized the Shindand airbase from the Forces of Ismail Khan, killing not only several of his fighters but also some of his civilian employees. Thousands of troops from the Afghan National Army were subsequently sent to the area to cool off the belligerents, and managed to restore order after the fighting. The US-led coalition authorities also threatened both warring parties with the potential use of airstrikes if they did not heed the orders of the central government.
In September, approximately one month after the clashes, Ismail Khan was relieved of his post as governor of Herat. He was instead granted the position of Minister of Mines and Industry, to be posted in Kabul, severely weakening his position as a warlord in the west. He did not take up his new ministerial position and instead became a private citizen. However, he later joined the Kabul administration. Even if the central government did not overtly support Amanullah Khan in his actions (which some analysts claim it did) the conflict had the effect of reigning in the Herat province closer to Kabul; something which had been in its interests for a long time. Amanullah Khan was brought by the army and coalition forces to Kabul, to have his militia disarmed. He was later killed in clashes with another warlord, Arbab Basir.
The non-state conflict between the Fores of Amanullah Khan and the Forces of Ismail Khan is first included in UCDP data in 2002. In August that year clashes between the two groups in the Goryan district of Herat province caused more than 50 battle-related deaths.
