MSF - Photographs From Afghanistan, Civil War

Civil War (1989-1996)

After the last Soviet soldiers leave Afghanistan in February 1989, the mujahadeen set their sights on overthrowing the Communist government in Kabul. With the killing of MSF logistician Frederic Galland in April 1990 in Badakshan, MSF suspends all operations.

In 1992, fighting rages in Kabul as the mujahadeen launch their final offensive against the government. Reacting to the mounting casualties, MSF airlifts a surgical team and 20 tons of medical supplies into the capital to treat war wounded. In northern Afghanistan, MSF teams assist Tajik refugees fleeing civil war in their country.

After the ouster of the government, mujahadeen commanders turn against one another in a grab for power. With fighting taking place in Kabul and elsewhere, MSF expands its medical programs to the hardest-hit areas. Activities include primary health care, water-and-sanitation programs, mother-and-child health care, malaria and cholera treatment, vaccination campaigns, and hospital support and rehabilitation.

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An Afghan mother and her daughter are among more than 80,000 people living in the Sharhahid displaced persons camp near the city of Jalalabad. These people fled Kabul after fighting intensified between mujahadeen commanders, but were stranded near Jalalabad when Pakistan closed its borders to all refugees.

1994©Benno Neeleman

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Just a few days after Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud's forces take control of Kabul from the Soviet-backed Communist government, women are seen wearing full-length burhkas.

1992©Didier Lefevre

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During intense factional fighting, an MSF surgical team treats war-wounded civilians in a hospital in Kabul.

1993©MSF

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Fighting between mujahadeen Commanders Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar cuts Kabul in half. At the frontlines, children collect scrap metal and other material to sell. One of these children finds a photograph of Hekmatyar amongst the ruins of a bank. The remnants of safe boxes lie behind him.

1994©Didier Lefevre

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Refugee children gather outside of an MSF clinic in the Sharhahid camp near the city of Jalalabad.

1994©Benno Neeleman

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MSF builds a 12-mile water pipeline in the Sharhahid refugee camp. At the time, this water-treatment system is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by MSF.

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Refugee women and children gather around a water tank provided by MSF in the Sharhahid refugee camp.

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Afghan MSF staff members distribute medicine from a pharmacy at the Jalozai refugee camp, near Peshawar, Pakistan.

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