Massoud was never eliminated on the battlefield. For much of
the period between 1996 and 2001, forces under his control
remained surprisingly close to Kabul, often controlling large tracts
of land in the fertile Shomali Valley to the north of Kabul, which
housed Bagram air base, as well as the town of Charikar. The
Shomali Valley became a target for ferocious Taliban attack, and
changed hands on a number of occasions. Two Taliban attacks
were particularly destructive. On 16 January 1997, the Taliban
launched a major assault on the valley, producing population dis-
placement, and destruction of houses and crops. It was this attack
which first led to widespread allegations of ‘ethnic cleansing’ by
the Taliban, since the bulk of those displaced were Tajiks. Even
more destructive was a scorched-earth attack in August 1999. On
14 August, the United Nations reported that the Taliban were
‘intentionally setting homes on fire’, which prompted UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan to state that ‘The parties responsible
for such disasters cannot, cynically, commit such criminal acts,
then turn to the United Nations and the international community as
a whole to help save their own people from disasters provoked by
those who claim to be their country’s leaders’ (UNOCHANews
Release, 14 August 1999). Within a fortnight, it was clear that the
Taliban were systematically demolishing the agricultural infrastruc-
ture in the valley (Agence France Presse, 27 August 1999), and
after the Taliban were overthrown, pitiful reports on the condition
of the valley and its people began to emerge (Waldman, 2002). Yet
these tactics did not ultimately deliver secure control of the valley.
By September 2001, the front line between Taliban and anti-
Taliban forces was next to the Bagram air base. Massoud also
faced attacks further north. He lost the town of Taloqan, to which
he had shifted his headquarters, but managed to reestablish his
headquarters to the east, ultimately in the town of Khwaja
Bahauddin. Massoud concentrated on methodical organisation of
his forces. From the point of view of international politics,
Massoud’s ongoing resistance had two significant implications.
One was that Rabbani’s government was in a position to retain
Afghanistan’s UN seat, which would have been difficult had it
The Rise and Rule of the Taliban, 1994-2001 231