Commander Shafi Hazara ( prs, قومندان شفیع هزاره) was an ethnic

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

military commander in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. He was a senior commander during the resistance of west

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

and

Hazarajat Hazaristan ( fa, هزارستان, Hazāristān), or Hazarajat ( fa, هزاره‌جات, Hazārajāt) is a mostly mountainous region in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Koh-i-Baba mountains in the western extremities of the H ...

between 1991 and 1996. In the 1990s he led

Hezbe Wahdat Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan ( prs, حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان, "the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan"), shortened to Hezbe Wahdat (, "the Unity Party"), is an Afghan political party founded in 1989. Like most contem ...

Brigade 2 military wing against rival militias and, against the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pas ...

takeover.

Early life

Shafi was born in March 1964 in

Chindawol Chindawol or Chendavol ( prs, چنداول) is a neighborhood in the older section of Kabul, Afghanistan. Chindawol uprising Population The majority of the people in this region are Qizilbash and Hazara. See also * Neighborhoods of Kabul ...

. Originally from the

Turkman valley Torkman Valley or (Dare''-ye'' Torkman, prs, دره ترکمن; haz, دره تورکمو) is a valley in Afghanistan located in Surkhi Parsa District, Parwan Province in Hazarajat region, which is inhabited by the Hazara people. Etymology Th ...

Parwan province Parwan (Dari: ), also spelled Parvan, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 751,000. The province is multi-ethnic and mostly rural society. The province is divided into ten districts. The town of Imam Abu Hani ...

. He went to Parsa Elementary School and Ansari High School. After graduating, Shafi went to his home village, the Turkman valley, and joined Sazman Al-Nasr in

Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...

against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Shafi Dewana (Shafi the Mad)

Shafi due to his exceptional military tactics that angered a collection of adversaries. He would continuously put himself in danger by standing on top of containers and running towards the opposition, resulting in his enemies calling him "Dewana".

Battles

On May 1, 1992, he returned to Kabul and formed a six-man unit and started his armed struggle against the communist government. In the first battles, he captured the state security office department, the Ministry of Interior, the sixth security district, and Mahtab Qala and Dasht-e Barchi security checkpoints. Soon he would become one of the senior commanders of Hezbe Wahdat. Shafi formed Brigade Two infantry unit. It was not long before hundreds of young men joined him. In the first imposed war, they cleared the opposition from many areas of west Kabul. After gaining many resources, which included all kinds of light and heavy weapons. Under Shafi's command, Brigade Two forces managed most of the front and strategic defense lines of west Kabul Kabul. He participated in essential operations as a prominent and leading commander.

Ghazni

When the

emerged in Afghanistan, they entered

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

from

Qandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

. With three to four hundred of his soldiers, Shafi entered Ghazni to fight the Taliban and confronted them, killing dozens of Taliban members. The Taliban repeatedly confessed to Hezb Wahdat representatives that we had minimal casualties while we had captured several provinces. However, in Ghazni, Shafi had killed dozens of our troops. After a few months of battling, his unit retreated to Kabul.

Post Kabul civil battles

After the fall of the west Kabul resistance and the martyrdom of

Abdul Ali Mazari ) , image = Abdul Ali Mazari.jpeg , caption = , office1 = Leader of Hezbe Wahdat , primeminister1= , term_start1 = 1989 , term_end1 = 13 March 1995 , predecessor1 = , successor1 = , office2 = , pri ...

, Shafi went to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, Pakistan, and from there to

Mazar-e Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...

, where he spent some time buying weapons, regrouping, and gathering his forces. After the funeral of Abdul Ali Mazari, Shafi entered Hazarajat and went into battle with the Taliban and rival factions. He established security throughout the central areas of Afghanistan. He set several checkpoints, and bases some of his most essential headquarters were located in Shekh Ali District,

Turkman Valley Torkman Valley or (Dare''-ye'' Torkman, prs, دره ترکمن; haz, دره تورکمو) is a valley in Afghanistan located in Surkhi Parsa District, Parwan Province in Hazarajat region, which is inhabited by the Hazara people. Etymology Th ...

, Haji Gak Pass, The valley of Six Bridge,

Bamiyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an al ...

and Iraq Valley.

Assassination

Shafi was killed on 22 August 1996. His assassination took place in the home of

Karim Khalili Karim Khalili ( fa, کریم خلیلی) is an Afghan politician serving as leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat Islami Afghanistan party. Most recently he was Chief of the Afghan High Peace Council from 2017 until its dissolvement in 2019. He was selec ...

central

. Karim Khalili and his collaborators killed Shafi and shortly after attacked his Six Bridge post killing one additional soldier and wounding many. His assassination is acknowledged as a betrayal by the Hazara people. Many essential details still have remained unclear. He was buried in Bamiyan by the local people but later transferred to his hometown by his soldiers and body rests in the Dahan Khakrez cemetery in Turkman Valley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafi Hazara military personnel Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) 1964 births 1996 deaths