2001 in Afghanistan
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2008-07-03T15:48:40Z
Publicus
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''See also'': [[2000 in Afghanistan]], [[2001|other events of 2001]], [[2002 in Afghanistan]] and [[Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)]].
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==[[January 1]], [[2001]]==
*The [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] captured the [[Ghalmin district]] in [[Ghor province]], [[Afghanistan]]. The [[Taliban]] tried several times to recapture the area but failed. Retreating Taliban left five dead soldiers behind. Another 13 Taliban were reportedly wounded.
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] authorities in [[Afghanistan]] raised postal rates beyond affordable levels for the majority of ordinary citizens. Mulla [[Abdul Baqi Mukhles]], head of the central postal department, said the rise was linked to the steep fall of the [[Afghan afghani|afghani]] and the decisions of the [[1999]] [[International Postal Union]] congress in [[Beijing]].
==[[January 2]], [[2001]]==
*In [[Ghor province]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Taliban]] fighter planes bombed the [[Ghalmin district]] in support of a two-pronged infantry attack in which two opposition soldiers were wounded and six militia men killed.
==[[January 3]], [[2001]]==
*[[Taliban]] forces pounded opposition positions with heavy artillery initiating a counter-attack to retake the [[Ghalmin district]] in [[Ghor province]], [[Afghanistan]].
*Fighting between the [[Taliban]] and opposition forces was reported in northeastern [[Afghanistan]] near the border with [[Tajikistan]].
*A meeting held in [[Panjab district]] of [[Bamyan province]], [[Afghanistan]] was attended by a large number of the people including [[Ustad Akbari]]. Leaders denounced the conspiracies and plots of anti-Islamic states, including the [[United States]] and [[Russia]].
*The [[United Nations]] announced that the number of its foreign workers returning to [[Afghanistan]] had reached 24, and would increase, but not go beyond 34. Less than two weeks earlier, the U.N. had pulled all of its workers from the nation to coincide with sanction activities.
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] announced it was allowing all humanitarian organizations, including the [[United Nations]], to continue their operations, except for the offices of [[United Nations Special Mission for Afghanistan]].
==[[January 4]], [[2001]]==
*A [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] delegation of the Chinese OFEM company arrived in [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] to assist the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] with the revival of [[hydel power]] projects. The delegation met with [[Taliban]] Minister for Water and Power [[Maulvi Ahmed Jan]], visited the [[Sarobi dam]] and pledged to install new turbine in the power house. Delegates also made commitment about the installation of mobile telephone system in Afghanistan.
==Mid-February [[2001]]==
The Taliban admit that resistance forces have captured the strategically important town of Bamiyan after heavy fighting.
==[[January 5]], [[2001]]==
*In [[Patras]], [[Greece]], while attempted to board a ship bound for [[Italy]], more than 20 [[Iraq]]i [[Kurd]]s clashed with 15 [[Afghanistan|Afghans]]. Eight were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. The rest were arrested by authorities.
==Early January [[2001]]==
Taliban leader Mohammad Omar decrees that religious conversion away from Islam will be punishable by death. Omar suggests that outside forces are attempting to undermine the Islamic regime by covertly preaching Christianity and Judaism in the country.
==Early January [[2001]]==
The UNHCR expresses serious concern for some 10,000 [[Afghan refugees]] camping on the country's northern border with Tajikistan.
==Mid-January [[2001]]==
The International Red Cross (ICRC) announces that it will end its relief mission in Kabul, saying that the Afghan capital is no longer adversely affected by the country's civil war. The 20,000 families that have been receiving aid from the ICRC since 1994 will be given their last shipment of cooking oil, rice, soap, and wheat in March.
==Mid-January [[2001]]==
Supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance reportedly retake the town of Yakawlang after heavy fighting. The UN reports that Taliban forces killed around 100 civilians when they reentered the town in December 2000 after briefly losing control of it. The UN also says that large numbers of refugees have fled the town despite severe winter weather.
==[[January 22]], [[2001]]==
The Taliban regime reveals Afghanistan's revamped air traffic control system, marking the first major improvement in the country's infrastructure for years. The upgrade is likely to increase the amount of air traffic flying over Afghanistan in future.
==Late January [[2001]]==
110 internal refugees sheltering in the west of the country die in one night as temperatures drop to -25° C.
==Late January [[2001]]==
The UN World Food Program (WFP) warns that the level of malnutrition among children in the north of the country is alarming.
==[[February 14]], [[2001]]==
The headquarters of the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) are closed by the Taliban authorities in retaliation for the U.S. government's closure of the Taliban offices in New York.
==Mid-February [[2001]]==
The UK-based human rights group Amnesty International condemns the apparently summary execution of six men by the rebel Northern Alliance.
==Mid-February [[2001]]==
The New York-based Human Rights Watch produces video evidence of the murder of around 170 men by Taliban forces in December 2000. The footage shows the execution of local men rounded up by Taliban forces reentering the town of Yakawlang, which had been briefly held by rebel forces late in 2000. It also depicts a mass grave at a nearby village.
==Late February [[2001]]==
In response to allegations of atrocities the Taliban authorities accuse rebel forces of killing 120 civilians during their three-day occupation of Bamiyan earlier in the month.
==Late February [[2001]]==
Taliban leader Mohammad Omar decrees that all statues in the country should be destroyed as they represent an insult to Islam and are being worshipped as false gods. The order leads to the destruction of priceless historic artifacts across the country including the world's tallest statue of an upright Buddha in Bamiyan.
==March [[2001]]==
Despite UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's reassurances in early March that the plight of the hundreds of thousands of internal refugees has not been forgotten by the international community, the UN withholds its aid to refugees stranded on the border with neighbouring Tajikistan later in the month. The suspension comes amid fears that the aid was being subverted by armed groups. Just a day before the announcement Annan urged both sides in the country's civil war to reject further violence.
==Early April [[2001]]==
Former [[communist]] general Abdul Rashid Dostum returns from self-exile in [[Turkey]] to boost resistance to the [[Taliban]] regime. He was forced to flee the country after his stronghold in the north was attacked by Taliban forces in [[1998]]. He meets with his former bitter enemy, the senior commander of anti-[[Taliban]] forces, [[Ahmad Shah Masood]], to discuss plans for a new northern front. Morale among opposition forces is reported to have been boosted by Dostum's return. The meeting is reported to have taken place in the [[Panjshir Valley|Panjshir]] valley in the province of [[Badakhshan province|Badakhshan]], the only part of Afghanistan under full opposition control.
==[[April 16]], [[2001]]==
The chair of the Taliban Interim Council, Mohammad Rabbani, dies. He was fighting liver cancer in a hospital in neighbouring Pakistan. His body is repatriated to [[Kandahar]] by a [[UN]] plane, permitted to operate on humanitarian grounds despite the air embargo.
==[[April 17]], [[2001]]==
The second of five rounds of [[polio]] [[immunization]]s to be held this year begins after the [[Taliban]] and the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] agreed to a week-long ceasefire. The ceasefire enables tens of thousands of staff and volunteers to operate freely to carry out a house-to-house effort to immunize all children under five years of age.
==[[April 18]], [[2001]]==
The [[European Union]] announces that it has signed a contract with the [[World Food Programme]] to contribute humanitarian aid worth U.S. $900,000 to Afghanistan.
==[[April 19]], [[2001]]==
In an effort to find out how western aid is being used, three [[United States|U.S.]] officials complete a rare visit to Afghanistan.
==[[April 24]], [[2001]]==
The UN declares the Afghan people the most displaced in the world. It estimates that there are 700,000 internal refugees in Afghanistan as well as at least 100,000 abroad. Aid workers also voice concern at the health situation in refugee camps and warn of impending epidemics.
== Early May [[2001]] ==
The anti-Taliban alliance claims to have taken control of key settlements in the eastern Kunar province, northeast of Kabul. The Taliban regime denies the claims and counters that its forces have repelled a brief occupation of the central town of Yakawlang, near Bamiyan.
== [[May 17]], [[2001]] ==
The U.S. announces that it will extend a $43 million aid package direct to projects and facilities in Afghanistan, bypassing the Taliban regime. The offer comes amid spiraling fears of impending famine.
== [[May 20]], [[2001]] ==
The Taliban regime closes the UN offices in Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-e-Sharif in protest over UN sanctions.
== Late May [[2001]] ==
Afghan Hindus are ordered to wear yellow identity labels to differentiate themselves from their Muslim neighbours. Although the Taliban regime claims that the plan is to protect Hindus from persecution by religious police, Hindu groups complain that the labels amount to "patent discrimination."
==Late May [[2001]]==
The Taliban authorities ban female aid workers from driving. Although the edict is unlikely to affect larger aid groups it is feared it may hinder the work of small-scale operations.
== [[June 1]], [[2001]] ==
Taliban forces begin a fresh attack on opposition positions in the centre and the northeastern Takhar province, around Taloqan.
== Early June [[2001]] ==
Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar warns that his regime would consider any UN monitoring of the country's borders as a hostile act.
== Mid-June [[2001]] ==
The anti-Taliban alliance accuses the Islamic regime of systematically destroying the central town of Yakawlang which has repeatedly changed hands between the two warring sides. They say that most of the town's 60,000 residents have now fled.
== [[June 21]], [[2001]] ==
The UN announces that it will establish large-scale refugee camps in the north of the country to help protect 10,000 displaced Afghans.
== [[June 22]], [[2001]] ==
The [[U.S. Department of State]] issues a "worldwide caution" for [[United States|U.S.]] citizens around the world of possible [[Osama bin Laden]]-related [[terrorism|terrorist]] attacks. The warning is due to expire or be updated [[September 22]].
==[[July 2]], [[2001]]==
[[Taliban]] Deputy Foreign Minister Mullah [[Abdul Jalil]] told [[United States|U.S.]] Ambassador to [[Pakistan]] [[William Milam]] that [[Osama bin Laden]] had not been "convicted and that the Taliban still consider him
innocent."
==[[July 3]], [[2001]]==
The Taliban regime reacts angrily to the U.S. renewal of trade sanctions. The U.S. authorities cite the regime's apparent protection of Saudi "terrorist" [[Osama bin Laden]].
==Mid-July [[2001]]==
The Internet is outlawed by the governing Taliban in an effort to prevent the spread of anti-Islamic material. The regime also says it will no longer recognize university qualifications obtained abroad, in particular those from the Afghan University in Peshawar, Pakistan.
==Mid-July [[2001]]==
A cholera epidemic reportedly kills 45 people in a single day in the northern Balkh province. The area is on the front line between Taliban and opposition forces.
==[[July 30]], [[2001]]==
The UN Security Council votes to employ new measures to help enforce the arms embargo on Afghanistan. Monitors will be stationed in neighbouring countries to ensure the sanctions are upheld.
==[[August 3]], [[2001]]==
*[[Dayna Curry]] and [[Heather Mercer]] were arrested at the home of an [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] family and accused of teaching [[Christianity]].
==[[August 5]], [[2001]]==
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] troops arrested six foreign aid workers with [[Shelter Now International]] on charges of spreading [[Christianity]]. The offices of Shelter Now were also seized.
==[[August 26]], [[2001]]==
*438 asylum seekers (420 from [[Afghanistan]]) were saved from a sinking [[Indonesia]]n vessel by the [[MS Tampa]]. The captain planned to take the asylum seekers to [[Indonesia]], but the asylum seekers apparently threatened the captain and allegedly said they would jump overboard unless they were taken to [[Australia]], prompting the captain set sail for [[Christmas Island]] instead. The Australian government however refused permission for the ship to enter Australia's territorial waters.
==[[August 27]], [[2001]]==
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] soldiers entered [[Iran]] and seized a border kiosk. Flooded by hundreds of thousands of [[Afghan refugees]], Iran had started deporting Afghans, accusing many of drug dealing.
==[[August 29]], [[2001]]==
*The captain of the [[MS Tampa]], carrying 438 asylum seekers (420 from [[Afghanistan]]), declared a state of emergency and proceeded to enter [[Australia]]n territorial waters, despite Australian government orders not to. The Australian government responded by dispatching Australian troops to board the ship and prevent it from approaching any further to [[Christmas Island]]. The MS Tampa captain was instructed to move the ship back into [[international waters]]. He refused. The [[Norway|Norwegian]] government warned the Australian government not to seek to force the ship to return to international waters against the captain's will. The Australian government tried to persuade [[Indonesia]] to accept the asylum seekers; Indonesia refused. The refugees were loaded onto an Australian Navy vessel. Most were transported to the small island country of [[Nauru]] and the rest to [[New Zealand]].
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] soldiers returned to [[Iran]] a border kiosk that they had seized on [[August 27]].
==[[August 30]], [[2001]]==
*[[Iran]] complained to the [[United Nations]] that [[Afghanistan]]'s ruling [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] had raised border tensions by deploying soldiers seizing a kiosk on [[August 27]].
==[[August 31]], [[2001]]==
*In [[Afghanistan]], the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] detained non-Afghan staff of the [[International Assistance Mission]] in [[Herat]] and [[Jalalabad]].
*[[United Nations Secretary General]] [[Kofi Annan]] urged the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] to assure the security of humanitarian personnel in [[Afghanistan]].
==[[September 1]]==
*About two dozen foreign aid workers were expelled from [[Afghanistan]] by the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] for allegedly preaching [[Christianity]]. The workers were from the international aid organization [[SERVE]] and the U.S.-based [[International Assistance Mission]].
*The parents of [[United States|U.S.]] citizens [[Dayna Curry]] and [[Heather Mercer]] visited their daughters for about 30 minutes accompanied by [[United States|U.S.]] diplomat [[David Donahue]]. Curry, Mercer and six other foreign aid workers (two [[Germany|Germans]] and four [[Australia]]ns) with [[Shelter Now International]] on charges of spreading [[Christianity]]. Eight of the foreign aid workers were transferred late from [[Kabul]]'s juvenile correction center to an unknown place.
==[[September 2]]==
*438 asylum seekers (420 from [[Afghanistan]]) saved [[August 26]] remained on board the [[MS Tampa]], a [[Norway|Norwegian]] freighter, stranded in the [[Indian Ocean]]. An [[Australia]]n troop ship was en route to transfer them to [[Papua New Guinea]], where they would be split up and sent to [[New Zealand]] and to [[Nauru]]. [[Mahmoud Saikal]], the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] consul to Australia, praised Naura and New Zealand, and condemned Australia.
*The [[United Nations]] called for fair trials for all 24 foreign and Afghan aid workers detained by the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. The detainees were charged with promoting Christianity.
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] Foreign Minister [[Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil]] assured relief organizations that, other than [[SERVE]], [[International Assistance Mission]], and [[Shelter Now International]], no other foreign aid groups were under scrutiny for preaching [[Christianity]].
==[[September 3]]==
*In [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], the trial began for eight foreign aid workers, as the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court held preliminary deliberations. Evidence included [[Bible]]s and video and audio tapes, along with investigation files from the religious police. [[Shelter Now]] denied its staff were involved in missionary work, however the Taliban claimed to have written confessions from the detainees. The accused were [[Georg Taubmann]], [[Katrin Jelinek]], [[Margrit Stebner]] and [[Silke Durrkopf]], all [[Germany|German]]; [[Australia]]ns [[Peter Bunch]] and [[Diana Thomas]]; and [[United States|U.S.]] citizens [[Dayna Curry]] and [[Heather Mercer]].
==[[September 4]]==
*Intense fighting erupted between [[Taliban]] forces and the [[United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan]] in [[Kapisa province]]. Elsewhere, the Taliban captured two important areas, [[Khanqa]] and [[Sang-e-Bada]] southwest of [[Mahmood Raqi]], provincial capital of [[Kapisa]].
==[[September 5]]==
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] denied Western diplomats access to a court where eight foreign aid workers were on trial for promoting [[Christianity]], but Chief Justice [[Noor Mohammad Saqib]] said the defendants could hire foreign lawyers. He also said that the defendants could face [[hanging]]. Despite repeated requests, [[Australia]]n, [[Germany|German]] and [[United States|U.S.]] consuls in [[Kabul]] had been denied any meetings with Taliban authorities for a week.
*The wife of jailed Sheikh [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]] sent letters to [[United States|U.S.]] president [[George W. Bush]] and the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leadership to urge them to exchange Abdel-Rahman for the eight foreign workers standing trial.
==[[September 6]]==
*The [[United Nations]] special envoy to [[Afghanistan]], [[Francesc Vendrell]], arrived in [[Kabul]], saying the trial of the arrested foreign aid workers would be meaningful only if it is held in an open court. Despite an earlier promise to do so, the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] had not allowed journalists, Western diplomats or relatives of the accused any access to the proceedings.
*[[Afghanistan|Afghan]] Foreign Minister [[Abdul Wakil Motawakil]] said that, with some "rare" exceptions, all international flights over Afghanistan, including those by the [[U.N.]] and [[International Committee of the Red Cross]], would be stopped unless the [[United Nations]] released funds from frozen aviation accounts. The [[United Nations Security Council]] had banned international flights by [[Ariana Afghan Airlines]] except for humanitarian reasons as part of sanctions imposed over the [[Taliban]]'s refusal to extradite suspected [[terrorism|terrorist]] [[Osama bin Laden]].
*The [[World Food Programme]] announced that [[Afghanistan]] was on the brink of famine, and appealed for $151 million to fund an "emergency operation".
*The Central Board of Revenue of [[Pakistan]] approved zero-rated export of [[cement]] and [[tobacco]] leaf to Central Asian Republics and [[Afghanistan]] via land route.
==[[September 7]]==
*The trial of eight foreign aid workers detained in [[Afghanistan]] on charges of preaching [[Christianity]] went into recess for a weekly holiday.
==[[September 8]]==
*Eight foreign aid workers on trial for promoting [[Christianity]] in [[Afghanistan]] appeared for the first time in the Supreme Court, and said they were innocent of proselytising. The hearing was presided over by Chief Justice [[Noor Mohammad Saqib]] and 18 other judges. One of the six female defendants was wearing the head-to-toe cloak which is mandatory for Afghan women in public, while the others had veils over their hair only. The defendants walked slowly into the court under the escort of armed guards, who did not allow them to answer questions from journalists waiting outside the court. The mother of one of the US prisoners and the father of another accompanied their daughters into the court, but the cousin of the Australian man was kept waiting outside along with Australian, German and US diplomats.
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] took control of the [[Shokhi]] and [[Khan Aqa]] districts in [[Kapisa province]] after several days of heavy clashes with the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] led by [[Ahmad Shah Masood]].
==[[September 9]]==
*Afghan opposition leader [[Ahmed Shah Massoud]] was assassinated. A suicide bomber, posing as a journalist, blew himself up after gaining access to Masood's office. The suicide bomber was killed along with one of Masood's followers, and the Afghan commander's guards killed the second person posing as a journalist. The terrorists first conducted interviews with opposition soldiers in [[Shomali]] before meeting with Massoud. The bomb was either hidden in the camera or concealed around the waist of one of the terrorists. Massoud did not die immediately, and underwent emergency surgery at a hospital in [[Tajikistan]].
*The Afghan Supreme Court resumed the trial of eight foreign aid workers held for allegedly preaching [[Christianity]], but no detainees, diplomats or journalists were present.
*In [[Afghanistan]], the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] jailed 35 Afghan employees of one of the recently expelled foreign assistance groups.
==[[September 10]]==
*More than 135 [[Taliban]] were killed and 75 captured in an attack by opposition forces on Taliban positions in [[Eshkamesh]] and [[Chal]] districts of [[Takhar province]], [[Afghanistan]].
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] jets bombed residential areas in [[Khuram]], [[Afghanistan]], wounding six people and destroying three houses.
*More than 30 [[Taliban]] fighters were killed or wounded in the [[Safid Kotal]] area of [[Afghanistan]] when two trucks carrying them hit [[land mine|landmines]].
*The [[United Nations World Food Programme]] appealed to international donors for US$150 million to assist the estimated 5.5 million suffering people in [[Afghanistan]].
==[[September 11]]==
*[[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|Suicide attacks]] on the [[United States|U.S.]] kill more than 3,000 people and destroy the two towers of the [[World Trade Center]] and part of [[the Pentagon]], using three hijacked passenger airliners as missiles, with a fourth, also hijacked, crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. Early speculation about the source of the attack centered on [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]]-born [[terrorism|terrorist]] leader [[Osama bin Laden]], who was living in and working from [[Afghanistan]]. [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leaders condemned the attacks and rejected suggestions that Osama bin Laden could be behind them.
*Rocket explosions and anti-aircraft fire rocked [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]]. Both the [[United States|U.S.]] and Afghan oppositional forces denied involvement.
==[[September 12]]==
*In an internationally televised address, [[United States|U.S.]] president [[George W. Bush]] announced a "[[War on Terrorism|war against terrorism]]" intent on targeting both [[terrorism|terrorists]] and those who harbored terrorists. The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] was implied in this declaration.
*[[Germany]] said that the 23 German nationals in [[Afghanistan]] had been told to leave the country due to safety concerns.
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] militia said it would consider requests for the [[extradition]] of terror suspect [[Osama bin Laden]] based on evidence from [[United States|U.S.]] investigators.
*[[Tetsu Nakamura]], a [[Japan]]ese doctor, traveled from [[Peshawar]] in [[Pakistan]] to [[Afghanistan]] to evacuate Japanese health clinic staffers. He stayed in [[Jalalabad]] for three days, providing medical attention to [[refugee]]s.
==[[September 13]]==
*In anticipation of [[United States|U.S.]] strikes, [[Muslim]] militants were reported fleeing [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], while other residents were said to be digging trenches around the city.
*The [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] named General [[Mohammad Fahim]] as the new leader to replace the deceased [[Ahmed Shah Massoud]].
*[[United States Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] confirmed that [[Osama bin Laden]] was a suspect, but not the only suspect, for the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]]. Powell was in contact with [[Pakistan]] president [[Pervez Musharraf]] to build cooperation in fighting [[terrorism]] and to discuss the possibility of U.S. usage of Pakistani air space. Powell also announced that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State [[Richard Armitage]] would soon travel to [[Moscow]] for talks with [[Russia]]n Deputy Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Trubnikov]] about Afghanistan.
*A [[United Kingdom|British]] security official said that, if evidence emerges that [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]]-born exile [[Osama bin Laden]] was behind the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attack]], an attack on [[Afghanistan]] was an option that [[NATO]] was considering. NATO denied the report.
*Three Western diplomats, representing eight aid workers on trial for allegedly preaching [[Christianity]], left [[Afghanistan]] amid an exodus of foreigners concerned over possible [[United States|U.S.]] attacks. Family members of the detainees also left the country. However, the eight aid workers remained in the custody of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] militia as an Islamic court continued their trial behind closed doors.
*Senior diplomats from [[Russia]], [[India]], [[Iran]] and [[Uzbekistan]] met in [[Tajikistan]] to discuss possible assistance to anti-[[Taliban]] forces in [[Afghanistan]]. [[Tajikistan]] President [[Emomali Rakhmonov]] met with [[India]]n Deputy Foreign Minister [[Omar Abdullah]].
*The [[United Nations]] and several foreign aid organizations completed a swift withdrawal from [[Afghanistan]], fearing a [[United States|U.S.]] strike.
==[[September 14]]==
*[[United States Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] warned the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] militia that they could not separate their own activities from the activities of [[terrorism|terrorists]] harbored within their borders.
*[[Eric Schultz]] of the [[United States|U.S.]] Embassy in the [[Turkmenistan]] met with Turkmen President [[Saparmurat Niyazov]] to discuss responses to the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]].
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leaders warned of revenge "by other means" if the [[United States]] attacked [[Afghanistan]] in retaliation for the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]]. [[Hamas]] official [[Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi]] and [[Muslim Brotherhood]] spokesman [[Mamoun Hudaibi]] echoed the warning and defended the point of view.
*The [[World Food Programme]] warned that, following exodus of aid workers, about 1.5 million Afghans could emigrate out of Afghanistan in search of food. The U.N. estimated that, to date, Afghanistan had 900,000 internally [[displaced person]]s and that there were more than three million Afghan refugees in [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]] alone. Furthermore, the U.N. estimated that a quarter of the population (5.5 million people) would be reliant on food aid if they were to stay alive through November.
*[[Akil Akilov]], the prime minister of [[Tajikistan]], said that his nation was not yet prepared to guarantee the [[United States]] air space should the [[George W. Bush|Bush administration]] decide to launch retaliatory strikes against suspected [[terrorism|terrorist]] bases in [[Afghanistan]].
*[[Russia]]n Defense Minister [[Sergei Ivanov]] said that [[Moscow]] would not allow [[NATO]] forces to be stationed in any of the former Soviet republics.
*[[Congress of the United States|US Congress]] authorized president [[George W. Bush]] to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against the [[terrorism|terrorists]] who orchestrated the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]]. The vote in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] was unanimous. There was only one dissenting ballot in the [[United States House of Representatives]].
*In [[Ashkhabad]], [[United States|U.S.]] envoy [[Eric Schultz]] met with [[Turkmenistan]]'s President [[Saparmurad Niyazov]] to brief him on proposed retaliatory measures against the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]].
*The [[Pakistan Ulema Council]] called for a [[jihad]] against the [[United States]] if they attack [[Afghanistan]]. Council vicechair [[Maulana Naseeruddin]] organized rallies and "Death to America" conferences around [[Pakistan]].
==[[September 15]]==
*[[United States Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] said that [[Pakistan]] agreed to cooperate if the [[United States]] decided to strike [[Afghanistan]]. The [[Washington Post]] reported Pakistani officials had agreed to allow the United States to use Pakistani airspace in the event of a military strike against Afghanistan, but Pakistan would not involve its forces in any action beyond its own geographical boundaries.
*As [[United States|U.S.]] president [[George W. Bush]] met with his national security team at [[Camp David]], he told reporters that [[Osama bin Laden]] was a prime suspect in the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]]. Bush added that bin Laden was mistaken if he thought he could avoid capture or death.
*Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]] issued a call for [[jihad]] against the [[United States]] and its supporters if they attacked or assisted an attack on [[Afghanistan]]. The Taliban also asked all foreigners to leave [[Afghanistan]] in view of a possible attack by the United States.
*[[Russia]]n Foreign Minister [[Igor Ivan]] expressed implicit Russian support for a possible [[United States|U.S.]] armed intervention in [[Afghanistan]].
*[[India]], which did not share a formal military relationship with the [[United States]], decided to allow its facilities to be used for strikes against [[Afghanistan]]. India also provided the United States with intelligence information on training camps of Islamic militants in the region.
*[[Aziz al-Rahman]], an [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] diplomat, said [[Osama bin Laden]] was free to leave Afghanistan but would not be forced out.
*[[Iran]] announced it deployed military and police forces to seal its 560 mile border with [[Afghanistan]] to prevent a possible influx of [[refugee]]s.
*[[People's Republic of China]] Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Zhu Bangzao]] said that claims made by the [[Washington Post]] and the [[Wall Street Journal]] of connections between China and the [[Taliban]] were false.
==[[September 16]]==
*[[United States|U.S.]] president [[George W. Bush]] told his military to get ready for a long [[War on Terrorism]], adding that they would smoke the enemies "out of their holes".
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] information minister, [[Qadratullah Jamal]], said that [[Afghanistan]] had "fortified our bunkers and our important installations, including military bases and airfields."
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leader Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]] met with senior clerics and received their support.
*The [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement]] removed its remaining 15 foreign aid workers from [[Afghanistan]].
*[[Osama bin Laden]] published a statement to the [[Afghan Islamic Press]] that he was not responsible for the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]]. In the statement bin Laden said "The U.S. is pointing the finger at me but I categorically state that I have not done this."
*[[Afghan Northern Alliance]] Foreign Minister [[Abdullah (Afghanistan)|Abdullah]] offered full support to the [[United States]] in any operations, including 15,000 of its fighters for any possible strike on [[Osama bin Laden]].
*Thousands attended the funeral of [[Ahmad Shah Masood]], former commander of the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]], who was buried in his home village of [[Basarak]] in the [[Panjshir Valley]] of [[Afghanistan]].
*The [[Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan]] urged the [[United States|U.S.]] to show restraint in attacking [[Afghanistan]], hoping that the U.S. "could differentiate between the people of Afghanistan and a handful of fundamentalist [[terrorism|terrorists]]."
*[[Iran]]ian President [[Mohammad Khatami]] condemned the assassination of [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] leader [[Ahmad Shah Masood]].
*[[Pakistan]] asked the [[United Nations]] for permission to travel to [[Afghanistan]] on [[September 16]] to petition [[Kabul]] to turn over [[Osama bin Laden]].
*A [[Pakistan]]i newspaper reported that [[Osama bin Laden]] had sneaked out of [[Kandahar]], along with his wives, children and followers and moved to an undisclosed secret location in [[Afghanistan]].
*The six member states of the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]] unanimously condemned the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]] and assured the [[United States]] they were ready to take part in its [[War on Terrorism]].
*A [[Russia]]n division of 7,000 men based in [[Tajikistan]], which borders [[Afghanistan]], was placed on heightened combat alert. However, Tajikistan announced it would not allow Western nations to launch attacks on Afghanistan from its territory. Tajikistan was struggling to recover from a five-year civil war between [[Islam]]ic opposition forces and a hard-line secular government, and was heavily dependent on Russia for military and political support.
*The last of Western aid workers left [[Afghanistan]].
*To date, Afghans made up the single biggest [[refugee]] group in the [[world]] with more than 2.6 million in [[exile]], mainly in [[Pakistan]] and [[Iran]].
==[[September 17]]==
*[[Pakistan]] placed its army on alert ahead of a possible [[United States|U.S.]] attack on [[Afghanistan]].
*[[Iran]]'s supreme leader Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] condemned the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]] but added that attacking [[Afghanistan]] might cause a human catastrophe and could trigger more problems for the [[United States]].
*[[Afghanistan]] shut down its [[airspace]], two weeks after threatening to close it if the [[United Nations]] did not lift [[International sanctions|sanction]]s against [[Ariana Afghan Airlines]]. Although no flights were landing in Afghanistan, many flights were flying across Afghan airspace. Each time an aircraft flew over Afghanistan the airline had to pay Ariana $400. The money was deposited in accounts in [[Geneva]] that were frozen because of the sanctions.
*In [[Kandahar]], a delegation of [[Pakistan]]i officials led by intelligence chief General [[Mahmood Ahmed]] held a morning meeting with the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leadership, including Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]], to discuss cooperation with the [[United States]].
*[[Tajikistan]]'s armed forces were placed on alert following reports that 5,000 [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] fighters in [[Afghanistan]] had approached the border.
*[[Pakistan]]'s army reported that [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] troops of between 20,000 and 25,000 had been deployed just across the border from the [[Khyber Pass]]. A Pakistani army officer said Pakistan had reinforced its own troops fanned out along the region.
*[[Iran]]'s supreme leader [[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]] advised the [[United States]] against a full-scale war in [[Afghanistan]].
==[[September 18]]==
*[[Ruud Lubbers]], who was serving as the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]], visited [[Washington, D.C.]] to warn the [[United States Department of State]] that millions of Afghans had already faced starvation and homelessness and U.S. attacks "might hit additionally" many more.
*The [[United Nations Security Council]] demanded that the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] "immediately and unconditionally" hand over [[Osama bin Laden]].
*Afghan Information Minister [[Qudrutullah Jamal]] condemned the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]].
*A delegation of [[Pakistan]]i officials led by intelligence chief General [[Mahmood Ahmed]] flew from [[Kandahar]] to [[Kabul]] to negotiate with [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] leaders, including Mullah [[Mohammad Hassan Akhond]] and Foreign Minister [[Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil]].
*[[Sibghatullah Mujaddedi]], the head of the [[National Salvation Front of Afghanistan]] and first President of the [[Mujahideen]] government, condemned the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]] and urged the [[United States]] to exercise restraint.
*Afghan rebel leader [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]], from his safe house in [[Iran]], condemned the potential attack by the [[United States]] on Afghanistan, and threatened to band with other groups to resist it. Hekmatyar said also that he had no reason to disbelieve [[Osama bin Laden]]'s denial of involvement in the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]].
*In [[Afghanistan]], a meeting of the [[shura]], a collection of 1,000 village clerics and mullahs, was scheduled to decide the fate of [[Osama bin Laden]], but the council could not reach [[Kabul]] in time. The meeting was postponed one day.
*In an address on the [[Taliban]]'s [[Radio Shariat]], [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] Interior Minister Mullah [[Abdul Razzaq]] called for volunteers willing to fight against an invasion of the [[United States]].
*[[Iran]] Foreign Minister [[Kamal Kharrazi]] cautioned against a [[United States|U.S.]] military strike on [[Afghanistan]].
*The United Nations [[World Food Programme]] warned that an estimated 3.8 million Afghans, completely dependent on outside aid, had only enough food stocks for two to three weeks.
*[[India]] announced that Afghan [[refugee]]s living in the country would have to register themselves.
*Officials in [[Pakistan]] and [[Tajikistan]] reported 10,000 Afghans fleeing into their borders. However [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] Maulvi [[Abdul Hai Mutmaem]] denied reports that people were fleeing [[Kabul]] and [[Kandahar]].
*The [[National Post]] reported that [[Iran]] sent a message to the [[United States]] government via [[Canada]] stating it would not oppose targeted military strikes against those responsible for the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks|September 11th attacks]].
==[[September 19]]==
*Official beginning of [[United States]]' combat activities in Afghanistan, as designated by president George W. Bush in his "Afghanistan Combat Zone Executive Order" [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011214-8.html] on December 12, 2001.
*The [[United States]] ordered over 100 military aircraft to the [[Persian Gulf]] region.
*The ''[[USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)|USS Theodore Roosevelt]]'' left [[Norfolk, Virginia]] for the [[Persian Gulf]] as part of a 14-ship battle group.
*In [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Taliban]] leader Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]] announced he was ready to hold talks with the [[United States]]. He also urged the U.S. to use patience and to gather and turn over evidence to the [[Taliban Supreme Court]]. Omar suggested that the U.S. was using [[Osama bin Laden]] as a pretext to topple the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]. The U.S. government responded by stating it wanted action, not negotiations.
*[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] Interior Minister Mullah [[Abdul Razzaq]] urged Afghan citizens to support a [[jihad]].
*Fearing a [[United States|U.S.]] response, an exodus of thousands of Afghan peoples headed for [[Iran]] and [[Pakistan]].
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] asked that [[CNN]] leave [[Afghanistan]].
*A [[Pakistan]]i delegation sent to [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] to convince the [[Taliban]] movement to hand over [[Osama bin Laden]] also visited the eight detained [[Shelter Now International]] workers on trial for spreading [[Christianity]]. The delegation spokesman said the detainees appeared well and in good spirits.
==[[September 20]]==
*[[Tajikistan]] president [[Emomali Rakhmonov]] said [[refugee]]s fleeing [[Afghanistan]] would not be permitted into Tajikistan.
*[[Iran]] set up [[refugee]] camps on Afghan soil and asked relief organizations to help provide services to the camps. Iran also ordered its troops to seal its border with Afghanistan. Iran also stated that it would not allow the [[United States|U.S.]] warplanes to use Iranian [[air space]] to attack Afghanistan.
*In [[Afghanistan]], the [[shura]], a council of 1,000 village clerics and mullahs, issued an edict that called on the [[Taliban]] to persuade [[Osama bin Laden]] to leave Afghanistan, but the [[United States]] rejected the suggestion.
*Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]] appealed to [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]]s in [[Jammu]] and [[Kashmir]] to return to [[Afghanistan]] to defend against attacks. The shura also warned that any attacks on Afghanistan would cause a [[jihad]].
*[[President of the United States|U.S. president]] [[George W. Bush]] addressed the [[United States Congress]] and demanded that the [[Taliban]] deliver [[Osama bin Laden]] and destroy bases of [[al Qaeda]].
*The [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] capture of several [[Taliban]] posts and dozens of villages in [[Samangan province]], [[Afghanistan]].
*[[Uzbekistan]] and [[Tajikistan]] both agreed to allow the [[United States Air Force]] to use their facilities to mount patrols and combat missions against the [[Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]].
==[[September 21]]==
*[[United States Secretary of Defense|U.S. defense secretary]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] suggested that the [[United States]] would seek to work with the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] in future operations in [[Afghanistan]].
*The [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] drove the [[Taliban]] out of [[Dara-i-suf]], [[Afghanistan]].
*In [[Islamabad]], the [[Taliban]] ambassador to [[Pakistan]], [[Abdul Salam Zaeef]], stated that until evidence was procured, the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] was not prepared to surrender [[Osama bin Laden]] to the [[United States]].
*In [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]], an estimated 40,000 people protested against potential [[United States|U.S.]] strikes on [[Afghanistan]]. Four protesters were killed and ten police officers were injured. Other protests in [[Peshawar]] (10,000 protesters), [[Quetta]] (3,000 protesters), and [[Islamabad]] (1,500 protesters) occurred without incident.
*The [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] requested the [[United Nations]] suspend all communications from [[Kabul]] to the outside world.
*A crisis meeting of [[European Union]] foreign ministers agreed unanimously to support the right of the [[United States]] to attack [[Afghanistan]].
==[[September 22]]==
*[[Japan]]'s Ministry of Finance announced that payments or fund transfers to accounts in [[Afghanistan]] and to [[Taliban]]-related individuals living outside Afghanistan needed its permission.
*In [[Afghanistan]], an unmanned [[United States|U.S.]] spy plane collecting intelligence for the [[CIA]] was shot down over [[Samangan Province]] by [[Taliban]] forces.
*[[United States|U.S.]] transport planes landed at the military airfield in [[Tuzel]], [[Uzbekistan]].
*[[Turkey]] announced that it would allow [[United States|U.S.]] transport planes to use its bases and airspace.
*[[Taliban]] forces pounded [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] positions in [[Samangan Province]] and [[Balkh Province]], [[Afghanistan]].
*The [[United States Defense Department]] called to active duty another 5,000 Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members, bringing the total number of active reservists to more than 10,000.
*Scores of Afghan men threw rocks and bricks at the gate of the [[United States|U.S.]] [[embassy]], screaming "death to America." The embassy had been abandoned since [[1988]].
*[[Pakistan]] foreign ministry spokesman [[Riaz Mohammed Khan]] said his country would keep open diplomatic ties with the [[Taliban]] leadership in [[Afghanistan]].
*The [[United Arab Emirates]] cut diplomatic ties to the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] after failing to persuade [[Taliban]] leadership to abide by the [[United Nations Security Council]] resolution demanding the hand over of [[Osama bin Laden]].
*[[Mohammed Fahim]], the military leader of the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]], held talks in [[Tajikistan]] with [[Russia]]n army chief [[Anatoly Kvashnin]].
*[[Russia]]n president [[Vladimir Putin]] and [[United States|U.S.]] president [[George W. Bush]] held a 40-minute telephone conversation to discuss the [[War on Terrorism]].
==[[September 23]]==
*Members of [[Jamiat Ulema i-Islam]] marched from their homes in [[Pakistan]] to the Afghan border to fend off a possible [[United States|U.S.]] invasion.
*The [[Afghan Islamic Press]] reported that [[Osama bin Laden]] went into hiding.
==[[September 25]]==
*During a visit by [[Japan|Japanese]] Prime Minister [[Junichiro Koizumi]], when a reporter asked if the [[United States]] should help [[Afghan people]] liberate themselves from [[Taliban]] rule, president [[George W. Bush]] said, "We're not into nation-building; we're focused on justice."
==October==
''For information about events after September 31, see the'' [[Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (October 2001)|timeline of the War in Afghanistan]].
[[Category: 2001 by country|Afghanistan]]
[[Category: Years in Afghanistan]]