Badaber Uprising
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Badaber Uprising | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the Operation Cyclone | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Soviet P.O.W. |
St. Khalid ibn al-Walid Training Regiment of Afghan mujahideen,
|
||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Viktor Vasil'evich Duhovchenko [1] | Burhanuddin Rabbani | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12 Soviet and 40 Afghanistan captives [2][3] | ~300 Afghan mujahideen, Pakistan 11th Army corps, ~50 foreign military instructors[2] |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| All were killed | ~100[1]-120[2] mujahideen, 40-90 Pakistani soldiers, 6 foreign military instructors[1][2] | ||||||
Badaber Uprising was an armed uprising by Soviet and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) captives at Badaber, Pakistan in April 26 and 27, 1985, against much larger units of Pakistan's regular army accompanied by Afghan mujahideen. The attempt of the captives to liberate themselves failed. As a result of the two-day assault of the fortress-jail Badaber by the guards with accompanying artillery shelling, all the captives were killed.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The Badaber refugee camp, 24 km from Peshawar, acted as the military training center of Afghan rebels who opposed the Soviet Union's occupation of their nation. They trained under supervision by military instructors from USA, Pakistan, Republic of China and Egypt. The Badaber base belonged to Jamiat-e Islami of Afghanistan, one of the most influential and major opposition groups that resisted Soviet influence in Afghanistan as a part of Operation Cyclone.
Soviet and DRA captives were brought to the base in 1983-1984 after being held in zindans by rebel units. They were assigned heavy duties that included work in a quarry and loading of ordnance, etc., while mujahideen tried to force them to accept Islam. As of 1985, 12 Soviet and about 40 Afghan captives were held in Badaber.[1][2][3]
Communication with the shuravis or Soviet Afghans was prohibited during the period of imprisonment. Anyone trying to talk was whipped.
[edit] The uprising and the revolt
1985-04-26, at about 18:00 pm, a group of captives (Soviet and DRA) rose in rebellion against their captors. They used the moment when only two of 70 mujahideen were guarding the prison, since the other personnel were gathered on the drill square to perform the evening prayers known as namaz. The captives penetrated the armoury, took weapons and ammunition and tried to escape. (Some sources say that the main objective was to capture the fortress' radio center and go on-air and report the prison's location.)[1]
|
|||||
The escape was sabotaged when Haist Gol, the Badaber lead guard, came to know about it and raised the alarm in the base. He took all possible measures to prevent the escape of the captives.[3] The captives were forced to stay in the base and seized the key points in the fortress. Mujahideen detachments, as well as infantry, tank and artillery units of 11th Pakistan Army Corps quickly blocked the fortress area. Several attempts to recapture the fortress were repelled by the defending captives.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, then leader of Jamiat-e Islami, arrived at the base on 21:00 pm and began negotiations. He proposed that the captives surrender and promised their lives would be spared. The defending captives put forth demands to meet with a Soviet or Afghanistan ambassador in Pakistan and representatives from the Red Cross. They threatened to blow up the armoury if their demands were not met. Rabbani rejected these demands, fuelling attacks that continued all night.[1]
By 08:00 am on 1985-04-27, it became clear that the revolt would not end. Rabbani missed being hit by deadly rockets shots from the fortress, but his bodyguard received serious shrapnel wounds in the attack.[1] The Jamiat-e Islami leader decided to finish the battle with an all-out assault on the fort. He drew on artillery units, in particular rocket systems 9K51 Grad, tanks and even Pakistan Air Force helicopters to use against the defenders.
How the revolt ended is viewed differently by each side. Some say that one of the artillery shells struck the armoury building, setting off an overwhelming explosion. The series of explosions practically levelled the prison at Badaber. Three wounded and shell-shocked survivors were dragged to the walls and blown up by attackers using hand grenades.[1][2][3]
Other sources said that the defenders blew the armoury up themselves, after it became clear that the battle was in vain.[4][5].
[edit] Casualties
[edit] The defending captives
As of 2008, only these names are known:
| Name and rank | Details | Awarded medal |
|---|---|---|
| Vas'kov Igor Nikolaevich Private.[6] |
Born 1963 in Russia, Kostroma Oblast. Disappeared on July 23, 1983 in province Kabul, captured by the Harakat group; perished in Badaber.[5][7] | Unknown |
| Dudkin Nikolay Iosifovich Gefreiter.[6] |
Born 1961 in Russia, Altai Krai. Disappeared on June 9, 1982 in province Balh; perished in Badaber.[4][7] | Unknown |
| Levchishin Sergey Nikolaevich Private.[6] |
Born 1964 in Russia, Samara Oblast. Disappeared on February 3, 1984 in province Baglan; perished in Badaber.[5] | Unknown |
| Saminj Nikolay Grigoriyevich Junior Sergeant.[8][9] |
Born 1964 in Kazakhstan, Akmola Province. Perished in Badaber. | Valor, 3rd degree - posthumous December 12, 2003 |
| Zverkovich Alexandr Nikolaevich Private.[6][10][11] |
Born 1964 in Belarus, Vitebsk Oblast. Disappeared on March 7, 1983 in province Parvan, perished in Badaber. [7] | In memory of the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Afghanistan - posthumous |
| Korshenko Sergey Vasilyevich Junior Sergeant.[6][12] |
Born June 26, 1964 in Ukraine, Bila Tserkva. Disappeared on February 12, 1984 in province Badahshan, perished in Badaber.[13] | Valor, 3rd degree - posthumous February 8, 2003 |
| Duhovchenko Victor Vasilyevich Motorman (for the Soviet Army).[6] |
Born 1954-03-21 in Ukraine, Zaporizhia Oblast. Disappeared on January 1, 1985 in province Parvan, captured by group Movlavi Sadashi, town Sedukan, perished in Badaber.[13] | Unknown |
[edit] The prison guards
According to different sources, approximately 100[1] to 120[2] mujahideen, 40 to 90 Pakistani soldiers and 6 US military instructors[1][2] were killed. The explosion destroyed the Badaber base, 3 9K51 Grad's, thousands of shells and rockets, about 40 cannons, mortars and machine-guns. The fortress' chancellery was also destroyed along with the list of captives.
[edit] Aftermath
The incident caused alarm of Pakistan government and Afghanistan mujahideen. April 29, 1985, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the president of Pakistan, decided to classify all information related to the incident. On the same day, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the lead of the Hezbi Islami, issued an order stated: "Do not capture shuravi soldiers in the future, but annihilate them at the taking place."[1] The intel reports of the Aerospace Service Center on April 28, 1985 shocked the Soviet government as well: "The crater size on the image received by communication satellite reaches 80 meters."[3]
May 9, 1985, a representative of the International Red Cross visited the Soviet Embassy in Islamabad and confirmed the armed uprising of prisoners of war.[14]
May 11, 1985, Soviet ambassador noted a protest of the Soviet government to Pakistan President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, which is stated: "The Soviet side holds full responsibility for what had happened to the Government of Pakistan and expects that it will make appropriate conclusions about the effects posed by his complicity in the aggression against the DRA and thereby against the Soviet Union." However, no other measures against Pakistan had been taken by USSR. [14]
May 16, 1985, UN permanent representative of DRA M. Zarif sent a letter concerning this incident to the UN Secretary-General, which was circulated as an official document of the General Assembly and the Security Council.[14]
According to Yousaf Mohammad, the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence officer, the incident "could quickly get out of hand, or lead to international confrontation".[15] The fact of uprising was concealed by both Pakistan and USSR governments for many years until the dissolution of the USSR. Six names of uprising participants were given to Alexander Rutskoy committee by Shahryar Khan, the deputy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, only in 1992.[6]
In 2002, the application for award of three uprising participants, the Russians Igor Vas'kov, Nicholay Dudkin and Sergei Levchishin, was sent to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. The response was negative: "Unfortunately, there is no basis to proceed with the application for award".
[edit] Mass culture
The Russian / Kazakhstan movie Peshavarskiy Vals released in 1994 was based on this incident.
[edit] See Also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "АРХИВ: Последнее па Пешаварского вальса". R. Shkurlatov. Bratishka magazine, July, 2006. (Russian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Бадабера: неизвестный подвиг". S. Pahmutov. Фонд "Русская Цивилизация", 11 November 2007. (Russian)
- ^ a b c d e "Восстание в Барадере: в поисках истины". I.Elistratov. Smolensk magazine, July 2007. (Russian)
- ^ a b V. Andryuhin. Восстание поверженных". Новое дело. Retrieved on 2005-09-08. (Russian)
- ^ a b c E. Kirichenko. Восставшие в аду Бадабера. Trud Newspaper. Retrieved on 2007-05-03. (Russian)
- ^ a b c d e f g E. Kirichenko. Восставшие в аду Бадабера. Trud. Retrieved on 2007-05-10. (Russian)
- ^ a b c Не забывай нас, Родина!. Trud Newspaper. Retrieved on 2007-02-15. (Russian)
- ^ Y. Kalinina. Герои Бадабера. Moskovskiy Komsomolets. Retrieved on 2005-04-27. (Russian)
- ^ V. Pryanikov. Неоконченная война. Казахстанская Правда. Retrieved on 2004-02-19. (Russian)
- ^ N. Malishevkiy. Последний бой рядового Зверковича. РЭСПУБЛIКА. Retrieved on 2006-06-03. (Russian)
- ^ Рядовой Зверкович поднял восстание в Пакистане. Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belorussii. Retrieved on 2007-04-26. (Russian)
- ^ I. Osipchuk.. Отец солдата Сергея Коршенко, погибшего 18...поднятого пленными. Facty i kommentarii. Retrieved on 2004-04-23.(Russian)
- ^ a b Information about being taken into captivity and mysterious disappearance..
- ^ a b c "Афганистан: 10 лет глазами СМИ". В.Виноградов. (Russian)
- ^ "Yousaf Mohammad. Badaber". Original text and Russian translation by V.Pleshkevich.
[edit] References
- Afghanistan - The Bear Trap (The Defeat of a Super-power). Yousaf, Mohammad & Adkin, Mark. 2006. ISBN 8187330155.
- Трагедия и доблесть Афгана. Александр Ляховский. 1995. ISBN 5858440479. (Russian)
- "Восстание в тюрьме Бадабера." - according to the newspaper "Pobratim", #6. 2005. (Russian)
- Мятежные узники "Бадабера". A. Korobov. Boevoe bratstvo magazine, 2005. (Russian)
- "Мы чести воина не уронили". B. Malorodov. Boevoe bratstvo magazine, 2006. (Russian)
- "К подвигу всечасно не готовлясь, он был всечасно к подвигу готов". E. Tibilova. Yuzhnaya Osetiya magazine, October 7, 2006. (Russian)
- "Прокляты и забыты?" A.Pochtaryov. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, February 13, 2004 (Russian)
