SUMMARY

The resistance groups in Afghanistan, commonly referred to as the Mujahideen or freedom fighters, sprang up in reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. When their common enemy, the Soviet Union, had left the country in 1989, the unity within the Mujahideen started to fall apart. Although a transitional government was set up in Pakistan by the rebels, with representatives from the major resistance parties, they increasingly started fighting each other over local control. The Mujahideen leaders were often switching sides, fighting together one day and against each other the next.

In August 1989, the two Muhajideen groups Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami-yi Afghanistan and Ittihad-i Islami Bara-yi Azadi-yi Afghanistan started fighting each other for control of a river bridge in Hilmand province in the southern parts of Afghanistan. The strategic bridge had generated toll revenue for the armed groups. After several weeks of clashes, fighting subsided.

The non-state conflict between Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami-yi Afghanistan and Ittihad-i Islami Bara-yi Azadi-yi Afghanistan is first included in UCDP data in 1989. In August that year, clashes in Hilmand province resulted in 70-80 battle-related deaths.