Saur Revolution

Saur Revolution
	Part of the Cold War and the Afghan conflict
	; Troops and vehicles at the gates of the Arg (presidential palace) in Kabul on 28 April 1978
Date	27–28 April 1978; (1 day)
Location	Afghanistan34°31′31″N 69°10′42″E / 34.52528°N 69.17833°E
Result	PDPA victory Overthrow and execution of Mohammed Daoud Khan and his family; Purging of Daoud's supporters from the government; Establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan; Eventual Soviet military intervention;
Belligerents
Republic of Afghanistan	People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Commanders and leaders
Mohammad Daoud Khan †; Abdul Qadir Nuristani †; Ghulam Haidar Rasuli †; Sayyid Abdullah †; Major General Mohammad Nazim; Major General Haji Nawaz	Nur Muhammad Taraki; Hafizullah Amin; Mohammad Aslam Watanjar; Mohammed Rafie; Abdul Qadir; Mohammed Yakub; Major Khaleelullah; Nazar Mohammad
Units involved
Afghan Armed Forces Republican Guard Brigade; 1st Central Army Corp; 7th Infantry Division; 11th Infantry Division; 8th Infantry Division; 25th Infantry Division; 242nd Parachute Battalion; 444th Commando Battalion; 455th Commando Battalion; 717th Civil Disciplinary Unit;	PDPA Armed Forces 7th Division; 11th Division; 4th Brigade; 15th Brigade; 88th Heavy Artillery Brigade; 242nd Parachute Battalion; 444th Commando Battalion; 455th Commando Battalion; Afghan Air Force 322nd Air Regiment; 355th Air Regiment; 373rd Air Regiment; Hunter Bomber Regiments;
Strength
12500 personnel	1300 personnel
Casualties and losses
	2,000+ killed (combined)
	Kabul class=notpageimage\| Location of Afghanistan's capital city

The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution (Pashto: د ثور انقلاب; Dari: إنقلاب ثور),^[10] also known as the April Revolution^[11] or the April Coup,^[10] was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (۷ ثور, lit. '7th Saur') by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) and overthrew Afghan president Mohammed Daoud Khan, who had himself taken power in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état and established an autocratic one-party system in the country. Daoud and most of his family were executed at the Arg in the capital city of Kabul by Khalqi military officers, after which his supporters were also purged and killed.^[12] The successful PDPA uprising resulted in the creation of a socialist Afghan government that was closely aligned with the Soviet Union, with Nur Muhammad Taraki serving as the PDPA's General Secretary of the Revolutionary Council. Saur or Sowr is the Dari-language name for the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar, during which the events took place.^[13]^[14]

The uprising was ordered by PDPA member Hafizullah Amin, who would become a significant figure in the revolutionary Afghan government. At a press conference in New York in June 1978, Amin claimed that the event was not a coup d'état, but rather a "popular revolution" carried out by the "will of the people" against Daoud's government.^[15] The Saur Revolution involved heavy fighting throughout Afghanistan and resulted in the deaths of as many as 2,000 military personnel and civilians combined;^[9] it remains a significant event in Afghanistan's history as it marked the beginning of decades of continuous conflict in the country.^[16]

^ "1978: Afghan coup rebels claim victory". BBC News. 29 April 1978. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "The KGB in Afghanistan: Mitrokhin Documents Disclosed". Federation of American Scientists. 25 February 2002.
^ Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
^ Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
^ Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
^ Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
^ Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
^ Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
^ ^a ^b Ewans, Martin (2002). Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics. New York: HarperCollins. p. 88. ISBN 0-06-050507-9. There was, therefore, little to hinder the assault mounted by the rebel 4th Armored Brigade, led by Major Mohammed Aslam Watanjar, who had also been prominent in Daoud's own coup five years before. Watanjar first secured the airport, where the other coup leader, Colonel Abdul Qadir, left by helicopter for the Bagram air base. There he took charge and organized air strikes on the royal palace, where Daoud and the presidential guard were conducting a desperate defense. Fighting continued the whole day and into the night, when the defenders were finally overwhelmed. Daoud and almost all of his family members, including women and children, died in the fighting. Altogether there were possibly as many as two thousand fatalities, both military and civilian.
^ ^a ^b "Towards Equality: How Afghan women conquer 27% share in parliament after decades of war | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
^ "An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English (in Pashto). 25 April 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
^ "Mohammad Daud Khan". Afghanland.com. 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
^ Rubin, Barnett R. (2002). The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-300-09519-7.
^ Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
^ AP Archive (24 July 2015), Synd 6 6 78 Afghan Foreign Minister Hafizullah Press Conference on Recent Coup, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 11 March 2018 – via YouTube
^ "An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover". 25 April 2018.

[1] "1978: Afghan coup rebels claim victory". BBC News. 29 April 1978. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023.

[fas.org-2] "The KGB in Afghanistan: Mitrokhin Documents Disclosed". Federation of American Scientists. 25 February 2002.

[3] Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

[4] Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

[5] Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.

[6] Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.

[7] Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.

[8] Azimi, General Nabi (11 April 2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.

[Ewans-9] Ewans, Martin (2002). Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics. New York: HarperCollins. p. 88. ISBN 0-06-050507-9. There was, therefore, little to hinder the assault mounted by the rebel 4th Armored Brigade, led by Major Mohammed Aslam Watanjar, who had also been prominent in Daoud's own coup five years before. Watanjar first secured the airport, where the other coup leader, Colonel Abdul Qadir, left by helicopter for the Bagram air base. There he took charge and organized air strikes on the royal palace, where Daoud and the presidential guard were conducting a desperate defense. Fighting continued the whole day and into the night, when the defenders were finally overwhelmed. Daoud and almost all of his family members, including women and children, died in the fighting. Altogether there were possibly as many as two thousand fatalities, both military and civilian.

[ASAHI-10] "Towards Equality: How Afghan women conquer 27% share in parliament after decades of war | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 13 October 2021.

[11] "An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English (in Pashto). 25 April 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2021.

[12] "Mohammad Daud Khan". Afghanland.com. 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.

[Barnett-13] Rubin, Barnett R. (2002). The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-300-09519-7.

[14] Afghan, Rehmatullah; Siddique, Abubakar (10 September 2020). "Afghanistan Still Facing Aftershocks Of 1978 Communist Coup". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

[15] AP Archive (24 July 2015), Synd 6 6 78 Afghan Foreign Minister Hafizullah Press Conference on Recent Coup, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 11 March 2018 – via YouTube

[16] "An April Day That Changed Afghanistan 1: Four decades after the leftist takeover". 25 April 2018.

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