AFGHANISTAN SITUATION REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T01058R000507130001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 28, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: December 10, 1985
• Content Type: REPORT

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Directorate of
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Afghanistan Situation Report
79-81
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QANDAHAR OPERATION ENDS. BUT SNOWS FAIL TO HALT
FIGHTING ELSEWHERE 25X1 1
Despite the onset of winter, both Soviet-Afghan
forces and the insurgents were active in many
areas of Afghanistan. The multibattalion Soviet-
Afghan combat sweep in Qandahar, however, ended by
2 December.
SOVIET ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS UPGRADED
Soviet BTR-70 armored personnel carriers in
Afghanistan have a new turret that permits a much
higher angle of fire than the previous one. The
change will enable the BTR-70 to operate more
effectively in urban and mountainous terrain.
NEW ORGANIZATION TO COORDINATE HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE TO AFGHANS
Pakistan hopes the creation of Pakistan Welfare
International--a clearing house for humanitarian
assistance to Afghan refugees--will lend
international prestige to the resistance. It will
almost certainly mean that pressures on private
groups to use the Pakistan-based resistance
alliance as a conduit for aid inside Afghanistan
will grow.
SEMIPRECIOUS STONES FUND AFGHAN INSURGENTS
The mining and sale of semiprecious stones in
Afghanistan--particularly lapis lazuli--reportedly
provides as much as $100,000 per year in revenues
to the insurgents.
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10 December 1985
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THE WAR IN NOVEMBER 7
Several Soviet-Afghan operations in November were
aimed at disrupting insurgent supply routes and
bases before the onset of winter.
troops conducted operations northwest of Qan ahar
This document is prepared weekly by the Office of
Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis and the
Office of Soviet Analysis. Questions or comments
on the issues raised in the oublicatinn shnnli ha
10 December 1985
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ELSEWHERE
QANDAHAR OPERATIONS END, BUT SNOWS FAIL TO HALT FIGHTING
Despite the onset of snow and colder weather in much of
Afghanistan, Soviet and Afghan forces were active in
Konarha, Ghazni, Balkh, Parvan, and Herat Provinces,
The Afghan Army
reportedly suffered heavy casualties in the late
November fighting around Herat, according to sources of
the US Embassy in Kabul, and insurgent ambushes of
Soviet and Afghan convoys resulted in the closure of
the vital Salang highway from 26 November to
4 December. According to the US Embassy, fighting also
forced the temporary closure of portions of the Mazar-e
Sharif-Sheberghan and Ghazni-Qalat roads. Insurgent
attacks in the lower Panjsher Valley destroyed a number
of Afghan armored vehicles, despite increased regime
air patrols and sweep operations.
the multibattalion
Soviet-Afghan combat sweep in Qandahar Province that
had been underway since early November ended by
2 December, when ground forces and air units returned
to their home bases,
Soviet BTR-70 armored personnel
carriers in Afghanistan now have a modified turret that
substantially enhances the previous turret's
capabilities. The modified BTR-70 turret employs new
optics to enhance visibility and a barrel type mantlet 25X1
(gun housing) that accommodates a 60-degree gun
elevation. la
single engine has replaced the twin en ine arrangement
on the BTR-70. [_ 7
Comment: The high angle of fire of the BTR-70 enables
it to operate more effectively in mountainous or urban
terrain and against insurgent ambushes. A diesel
engine probably would provide more power--possibly to
compensate for the BTR's reportedly heavier armor
protection and to improve its overall performance.
10 December 1985
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International boundary
-'- Province boundary
* National capital
Province capital
-t Railroad
---- Road
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NEW ORGANIZATION TO COORDINATE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
TO AFGHANS
Islamabad has created Pakistan Welfare International
(PWI) to serve as a clearing house for humanitarian
assistance inside Afghanistan. PWI, ostensibly a non-
governmental organization, will be staffed by
government officials and partly funded by Islamabad.
The new organization will be headed by the founder of
the North-West Frontier Province's refugee program, who
is considered an able administrator and well versed in
Afghan issues. The US Embassy reports that the
Peshawar-based resistance alliance will be on PWI's
advisory council and will be used as the conduit for
humanitarian aid.
Comment: Islamabad probably hopes the new organization
will both increase its control over humanitarian aid
going into Afghanistan and give the resistance some
added measure of international prestige by including it
in the advisory council and using it as a conduit.
Although Pakistani officials have said that PWI will
not replace current private voluntary aid organizations
(PVOs), Pakistan's desire to use the resistance
alliance as a conduit for aid and to avoid duplication
in aid programs will probably result in growing
pressures by Islamabad on PVOs to funnel aid through
the Peshawar-based alliance rather than through their
own established distribution systems.
SEMIPRECIOUS STONES FUND AFGHAN INSURGENTS
Mining of semiprecious stones continues in northeastern
Afahanistan despite heavy fighting in the area,
production of lapis lazuli, which accounts for e
majority of output, is greater than it was before the
Soviet invasion when output was over 7.0 metric tons
per year. the mine
owners, who arrange for sales in Pakistan, are closely
allied with the insurgents, and several insurgent
commanders are members of mining families. Insurgents
reportedly receive 10 percent of the estimated sale
value of the stones in return for providing security
for the trip to Pakistan.
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Comment: Based on pre-invasion prices and production
insurgents with as much as $100,000 per year.
levels, the sale of lapis lazuli may provide the
a new airfield under
construction near Saran Woluswali, a town some 50
kilometers southeast of Ghazni. When finished, the
runway will probably support helicopter and light
cargo aircraft operations
According to sources of the US Embassy in Kabul,
ex-KHAD chief Najibullah will oversee KHAD, the
Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Defense
in his new post as party secretary. The creation
of the secretariat post almost certainly stems from
Soviet and regime dissatisfaction with the military
performance of the Afghan army, the provincial
militias controlled by the Interior Ministry, and
the lack of cooperation between KHAD and the
Interior Ministry because of factionalism.
Najibullah's elevation in this capacity is a
political setback for Interior Minister Gulabzoi,
head of the Khalqi faction, who is likely to resist
relinquishing any real power to Najibullah, a
-- The Kabul regime seems to be trying to bolster its
relations with other Communist countries and
parties in order to improve its international
standing. High level People's Democratic Party of
Afghanistan delegations visited Greece and North
Korea last week and met with Communist Party
officials. In an unusual move for an Islamic
country, Afghanistan was even supposed to send a
representative to the Israeli Communist Party's
20th Convention in Jerusalem, according to press
10 December 1985
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PERSPECTIVE
Fighting in Afghanistan continued at a moderate level
during November. There were several Soviet and Afghan
operations designed to disrupt insurgent supply routes
and bases before the onset of winter. A large Soviet-
Afghan force conducted operations in a broad area
northwest of Qandahar from mid-November to ea
The resistance was active in
Herat, Nangarhar, and Parvan Provinces.
The Qandahar Offensive
conducted two large combat operations from late
November to early December in areas 45 and 100
kilometers northwest of Qandahar Citv.~
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e ci op ers ep oye
fighter-bombers and
o Qandahar airfield to support
The operation
included several air assaults--the largest on
19 and 20 November By early
December the operation ended, and ground air units
began to return to their bases.
Other Soviet-Afghan Operations
Soviet and Afghan forces conducted several other
operations during November
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Soviet and Afghan troops ended a combat-
sweep in the Herat area and returned to garrison in
the first week of November. The operation was
apparently not successful, however, because several
small Soviet units returned to Herat in late
November to counter insurgent attacks on several
regime outposts. Sources of the US Embassy in
Kabul report heavy regime casualties during the
operation.
Soviet and Afghan troops
conducted air assaults in conjunction with blockade
and sweep operations in the Jalalabad area between
11 and 27 November.
Soviet troops were engaged in minor
combat operations east of Bagram, stretching into
the lower half of the Panjsher Valley between
19 and 27 November.
Additional small-unit operations were conducted by
Soviet and Afghan forces in the Paghman area north of
Kabul and in Zabol, Paktia, Lowgar, and Ghazni
Provinces during November.
In addition to insurgent activity in Qandahar, Herat,
and Oruzgan Provinces, several attacks were noted in
Insurgents Remain Active
The insurgents also remained active in Afghanistan last
month, albeit at a reduced level compared to October.
US Embassy reporting:
Insurgents reportedly increased their level of
activity in the Mazar-e Sharif in mid-November and
killed several Soviet soldiers in night clashes.
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-- In spite of heavy snowfalls in the Panjsher Valley,
insurgents attacked the Afghan garrison at
Peshghowr--which probably precipitated Soviet
operations in the Valley in mid- to late November
and as many as nine other Soviet posts in the
Panjsher.
-- Embassy sources) (report
several insurgent attacks on convoys that destroyed
some 20 fuel trucks in the Salang Pass; attacks on
fuel pipelines north of Pol-e Khomri resulted in
the loss of fuel.
Embassy sources. In the Qan a ar
helicopters in November, according to
The insurgents shot down at least 10 Soviet and Afghan
operation alone,)
least three Soviet and Afghan helicopters were s of
down
exploit its strong position. With the onset of
winter--which closes many passes, making resupply
difficult--Soviet and insurgent operations in most of
Afghanistan will probably be small and localized.
Outlook
Soviet and regime operations in Qandahar, Oruzgan, and
Helmand Provinces probably failed to achieve any
lasting success because the Soviets lack sufficient
numbers of troops to maintain garrisons in this area.
As a result, the resistance will probably continue to
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