Soviet-Afghan · War Crimes & Atrocities

The Darkest Hours

The Soviet-Afghan War was marked by systematic atrocities primarily committed by Soviet and DRA forces against the Afghan civilian population, as part of a deliberate strategy to depopulate areas of Mujahideen support. The tactics included massacre of village populations, destruction of irrigation systems and crops, and mass deployment of anti-personnel mines designed to injure rather than kill — maximizing the burden on Afghan communities. Mujahideen forces also committed serious abuses, particularly against captured Soviet and DRA soldiers and against rival factions. The war's human cost — estimated at one million civilians — reflects not incidental collateral damage but systematic terrorization of the population as a counterinsurgency strategy.