Title:AFGHANISTAN: THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM [Main Title]
Film Number:COI 1107
Other titles:
Summary: British official account of the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, bringing events forward to 1984 and concentrating on the political events.
Description: Afghan rebels fire on Red Army patrol in valley: helicopters and MiGs fight back. Mujahideen successes: crashed Hind gunship, captured tanks. The rebels in their mountain stronghold prepare for further fighting. The background to the conflict is recounted, covering the installation of Babrak Kamal's puppet government, the UN resolution, the fleeing of refugees to Pakistan, worldwide protests, and an account of the events leading to Kamal's rise (including the ousting and deaths of Taraki and Amin - see COI 1102). In 1983 Diego Cordovez tries to find an agreement. President Zia and Soviet ambassador Oleg Troyanovsky are interviewed. The "limited contingent" of Soviet troops now numbers 100,000. Russian air power is sent against the Mujahideen: destruction around Kandahar. Scenes of the rebels attacking a Soviet convoy, of Jalalabad, and of the mountains (including the Mujahideen stronghold in the Panjshir Valley and wreckage of Soviet tanks and helicopters - Soviets call a ceasefire in this area). In March 1983, Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud leads resistance in the valley: rebel troops are trained. Russian reprisals: mortar attacks, show trial of Dr Philippe Augoyard. The Red Cross care for the injured in Pakistan. Occupation continues after 4 years; the USSR has failed to subdue the Afghan people. On the road to Kandahar, the Mujahideen attack a Soviet convoy; wrecked vehicles and defiant rebels are shown after the battle.
