It would be several more years before the Soviets left Afghanistan for good on February 15, 1989 having suffered the loss of 15,000 men -- many in the unforgiving mountain passes of Panjshir. But for Karim, peace was short-lived -- Afghanistan fractured into a ruinous civil war, and the young fighter was back on the frontlines. Thirty years later, Afghans who experienced the bloody aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal fear a repeat of that chaos as another invader -- the United States -- negotiates an exit from its longest war. "After the Russians left, we were sure peace was coming. Sitting atop a Russian tank abandoned on the roadside, Mirza bitterly recalled the violent legacy that trailed the vanquished Soviets.

Source: Bangkok Post February 12, 2019 02:48 UTC