The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

the lawful authority.The punishment of the deserters was swift and merciless. The paratroopers shotnearly three hundred soldiers and officers immediately. The remaining military personneldispersed into neighboring villages or returned to the barracks, having agreed to continuetheir service. Katichev wrote to Gorelov in the morning of March 20: “The rebellion in Herathas been suppressed.”The province of Herat remained one of the most dangerous and problematic untilSoviet troops left Afghanistan. For years, prolonged battles did not cease in the city and itssurroundings. What was once an oasis turned into a fiery hell.The modern Herat Hotel where the Soviet advisers resided, the one that had beenbuilt according to Western standards, became a real fortress. Its windows were filled withsandbags, machine guns were placed on the roof, and an armored vehicle guarded theentrance. From then on, Soviet advisers moved across the city only during daylight. Thearrival of darkness heralded the transfer of power to those who the Soviets calleddushmany.If the Herat uprising had been successful, Sarwari’s dark prophecy of a “chainreaction” across Afghanistan may have been realized. In a sense, that process had alreadybegun. That spring, armed uprisings in the provinces of Nangarhar, Baglan, Farakh, andothers began, but all were of disparate nature and each was suppressed with extraordinarycruelty. For example, Mohammad Yaqub arrived to suppress the rebellion in the Jalalabadgarrison. When he saw the arrested rebels and their supporters, Yaqub personally began toexecute them. His assistants were handing him fresh ammunition and exchangedsubmachine guns as barrels overheated from relentless usage. Amin praised the head of the389