The Soviet government had initially planned to swiftly secure Afghanistan's towns and road networks, stabilize the PDPA government under loyalist Karmal, and withdraw all of their military forces in a span of six months to one year. As bilateral tensions increased, the United States initiated the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, and the Soviet Union later initiated the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott, with both sides leading a number of countries to withdraw from participating in the events at Moscow and Los Angeles, respectively. Numerous sanctions and embargoes were imposed on the Soviet Union by the international community following the deployment. In addition to laying millions of landmines across Afghanistan, the Soviets used their aerial power to deal harshly with both rebels and civilians, levelling villages to deny safe haven to the mujahideen and destroying vital irrigation ditches. Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan's major cities and all main arteries of communication, whereas the mujahideen waged guerrilla warfare in small groups across the 80% of the country that was not subject to uncontested Soviet control-almost exclusively comprising the rugged, mountainous terrain of the countryside. The decision by the Soviet Union to directly intervene in Afghanistan was based on the Brezhnev Doctrine. Arriving in the capital city of Kabul, the Soviet military contingent stormed the Tajbeg Palace and assassinated Amin, subsequently installing Parchamite-affiliated Babrak Karmal as Afghanistan's new pro-Soviet leader. With fears rising that Amin was planning to ally Afghanistan with the United States, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev led his government to deploy the 40th Army inside Afghanistan on 24 December 1979. Amin's supersession of Taraki put the Khalqists at an advantage against the Parchamites, while greatly souring Afghanistan's relationship with the Soviet Union. In addition to civil unrest across the country, the PDPA was experiencing deep internal turmoil due to factional rivalries between the Khalqists and the Parchamites in September 1979, PDPA General-Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki was assassinated on orders from the PDPA's second-in-command, Hafizullah Amin. By April 1979, large parts of Afghanistan had erupted in open rebellion. Widespread dismay over the new policies was exacerbated by the repressive nature of the PDPA's Democratic Republic government. These policies were deeply unpopular among much of the conservative rural population and established power structures, who saw the PDPA's socialism as an ideologically disruptive force against their Islamic conservatism. After executing then-president Mohammed Daoud Khan and purging his supporters, the PDPA initiated a series of radical land reforms and modernization efforts throughout Afghanistan. The foundations of the conflict were laid by the Saur Revolution in 1978, which saw the nationwide seizure of power by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The Soviet–Afghan War caused grave destruction throughout Afghanistan, and has also been cited by scholars as a significant factor that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, formally ending the Cold War. Approximately 6.5% to 11.5% of Afghanistan's erstwhile population of 13.5 million people (per the 1979 census) is estimated to have been killed over the course of the conflict. The conflict led to the deaths of between 562,000 and 2,000,000 Afghans, while millions more fled from the country as refugees most externally displaced Afghans sought refuge in Pakistan and in Iran. The American pro-mujahideen stance coincided with a sharp increase in bilateral hostilities with the Soviets during the Cold War. While the mujahideen were backed by various countries and organizations, the majority of their support came from Pakistan, the United States (as part of Operation Cyclone), the United Kingdom, China, Iran, and the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf. Combat took place throughout the 1980s, mostly in the Afghan countryside. The war began after the Soviets, under the command of Leonid Brezhnev, had militarily intervened in, or launched an invasion of, Afghanistan to support the local pro-Soviet government that had been installed during Operation Storm-333. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union, the DRA and allied paramilitary groups against the Afghan mujahideen, foreign fighters, and smaller groups of anti-Soviet Maoists. The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.
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