Musa Qala

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Coordinates: 32°26′36″N 64°44′40″E / 32.4433, 64.7444

Musa Qala موسی قلعه
Musa Qala
Province	Helmand
Coordinates	32°26′36″N 64°44′40″E / 32.4433, 64.7444
Population	around 2,000
Area  - Elevation	1,043 m (3,422 ft)
Time zone	UTC+4:30 Kabul

Musa Qala is a town and the district center of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, at 32.4433° N 64.7444° E and at 1043 m altitude in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its population has been reported in the British press to be both 2,000^[1] and 20,000^[2]. It is in a desolate^[3] and largely lawless^[4] area, populated by Pashtun tribes.^[5]

Contents 1 Taliban Resurgence 1.1 Truce with the Taliban 1.2 Recapture by the Taliban 2 Battle of Musa Qala 3 Notes

[edit] Taliban Resurgence

Musa Qala is one of the centers of Taliban resistance to Nato ISAF control in Afghanistan.^[5]

On February 2, 2006, intensive fighting erupted there leading to 28 deaths, including the Musa Qala district chief, Abdul Quddus.^[6][5] On March 3, 2006, the Sangin district governor, Amir Jan, was killed there while on vacation.^[5] British forces were deployed to defend the district offices at Musa Qala (and also at Sangin, Nowzad and Kajaki). Over several months, eight British soldiers died there. Danish troops moved in to Musa Qala after the British. On 28 August 2006, the Danish military pulled all of its troops out of Musa Qala and were replaced by the British.

[edit] Truce with the Taliban

In late September 2006, a secret truce was allegedly made with the Taliban under which British troops would quietly move out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban not attacking the region. The truce had the sanction of Mohammad Daud, the governor of Helmand province, and most tribal elders, who felt they could now exercise control over the Taliban themselves. It was also seen as a move to help integrate the Pashtuns on the side of the US-allied government. Others however, saw the move as a cop-out; Lieutenant-General David Richards, the NATO commander in Afghanistan said at the time that this move turned these four centers into “magnets” for the Taliban.^[7]

Initially, the local leaders were happy over the settlement, which gave them the upper hand over the Taliban. In the long run, however, attempts to win over the population appear to have failed, especially under the NATO strategy of air bombing which killed more than 4,600 Afghan noncombatants from 2001 to 2006, according to a study by University of New Hampshire economist Marc W. Herold.^[8] The result has been the steady growth of anti-American sentiment in the region, focused on the US-backed regime of President Hamid Karzai. Karzai himself deplored the attacks, apparently breaking down in tears, saying that "The cruelty is too much. [The coalition forces] are killing our children."^[8]

[edit] Recapture by the Taliban

On February 1, 2007, a Taliban force about a hundred or possibly two hundred strong under Mullah Ghafoor captured the town, overran the district center and raised their trademark white flag. All tribal leaders who had arranged the truce with the British forces were jailed.^[9] Some sources report the Taliban force numbered "several hundred".^[10]

The situation created a crisis for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, on the very day that the British commanding officer General David Richards handed over charge of the NATO team to an American, General Dan McNeill; MacNeil suggested that "surgical and deliberate" force would be used to evict the fighters from Musa Qala. On February 4, US forces claimed that an airstrike near Musa Qala had killed a senior Taliban leader, possibly Mullah Abdul Ghafour, while travelling in a truck.^[11]

McNeill, the new NATO commander, feels that "come spring, an ISAF offensive not a Taliban offensive will set the conditions to defeat the insurgents again."^[12]

Eurasianet reports: "The attack laid waste to an agreement there, brokered last fall by Richards and local tribal elders, under which NATO troops agreed to withdraw from the town in return for a commitment by local Afghan leaders to oppose the Taliban."^[10]

Eurasianet reports that Richards, the outgoing NATO commander, is an expert at negotiation.^[10] Eurasianet reports that McNeill, the new NATO commander, opposes the kind of local agreements that Richards favored, and speculated that the aerial bombardment that was reported to have killed Mullah Abdul Ghafour was a sign of McNeill's more aggressive, less conciliatory approach.

"Officials in several European countries have quietly expressed concern about placing an American general in charge of the NATO force. Richards tried to create a less harsh, more economic-development-oriented identity for NATO in Afghanistan, as compared to the ‘‘kicking-down-doors’’ image that US forces have. Many local analysts expect NATO forces to embrace a more aggressive stance under McNeill, who is believed to oppose the type of local peace arrangements that Richards promoted. The danger at this point is that an overly aggressive NATO force in Afghanistan could alienate Afghans, and thus cause the Taliban’s support base to grow."

The district was the scene of heavy fighting in late July 2007 after US-led forces attacked several rebel hideouts in Helmand Province. Coalition officials said that up to 160 Taliban fighters were killed between July 22 and July 26 in gunbattles and airstrikes, adding that, rather than avoiding battle, the Taliban were trying to defend the area. No civilian casualties were reported by NATO, although a self-described resident claimed by phone that 16 civilians were killed in an airstrike.

In October 2007 Reuters reported that U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan government forces had killed 80 Taliban fighters in a six-hour battle here. As with the July engagement, the Taliban concentrated their forces and fought to defend the region rather than using typical "shoot and scoot" tactics.^[13]

[edit] Battle of Musa Qala

Main article: Battle of Musa Qala

As of December 7, 2007, an alleged 2000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. Coalition forces forces prepared for a siege of the town. Operation Mar Karadad ^[14] commenced with an overnight attack by the air assets of the 82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair, a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB). Afghan troops took a significant role in the fight for control of the village, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province.^{[citation needed]} It was considered to be of symbolic importance to both sides.^[who?] There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it is believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment was killed shortly after 10am on the 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine exploded.^[15] The Taleban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the Afghan army and NATO forces in control of the town. ^[16]

[edit] Notes