Operation Oqab
| date | July 18, 2009 - July 28, 2009 |
|---|---|
| place | Province of Kunduz , Chahar Dara district |
| output | Eviction of the insurgents from the district, temporary restoration of security |
| consequences | Deployment of 600 Afghan soldiers to permanently secure the region |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
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| Commander | |
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unknown |
| Troop strength | |
.svg){kind=small} 900 men, of them
|
.svg){kind=small} 300 Taliban (estimated)
20 foreign fighters (estimated) |
| losses | |
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The operation oqab (German Operation Eagle ) is a started 18 July 2009 operation of Afghan and German security forces in Kunduz with the aim of the situation in since April 2009 constantly unstable become province before the Afghan presidential elections on 20 August 2009. improve.
Starting point and goals
According to the Federal Intelligence Service , the aim of the Taliban and the Islamic Jihad Union is to put pressure on the German contingent to force a withdrawal. As a result, there have been several heavy skirmishes in Kunduz since April 2009 between Afghan security forces, ISAF units and insurgents (see ISAF operations in the Kunduz area since 2009 ).
From the point of view of ISAF and the Afghan National Army, it was necessary to restore security in this province, on the one hand to focus again on reconstruction, the aim of ISAF, and on the other hand with a view to the election of the Afghan President on August 20 To enable a safe ballot for the local population in 2009.
Furthermore, more and more supplies for the ISAF troops are being sent over the northern provinces. With the expulsion of insurgents, the risk of failure would be drastically reduced. The Afghan army commanded 800 soldiers and 100 police officers for the offensive, while the Bundeswehr provided the Quick Reaction Force , which was already partially stationed in Kunduz and equipped with Marder armored personnel carriers, the Fuchs and Dingo transporters and mortars. The US Air Force provided close air support with Predator drones and A-10 ground attack aircraft .
course
The first skirmishes with insurgents occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 19. The armored personnel carriers and mortars were also used. On the same day, during the course of the operation, an incident occurred in which German soldiers shot and killed an Afghan youth while a vehicle was approaching the positions of a unit at high speed, ignoring all warning signals. The soldiers assumed an attempted attack and opened fire on the vehicle. The Bundeswehr announced that it would compensate the victim's family.
On Monday, July 20, the Bundeswehr camp in Kunduz was fired at with rockets without causing any damage. Five Taliban fighters were killed in aerial bombing of insurgent positions.
On Thursday, July 23, it was reported that the region around the city of Kunduz was now under the control of the Afghan government again. However, a German patrol was shot at on Saturday 25 July, damaging a vehicle.
Development and reactions
In Germany, the offensive led to an intense debate. The Bundestag member Stinner ( FDP ) criticized the recommendations for use on the pocket cards for German soldiers, since it was paradoxical that on the one hand mortars and snipers were used and on the other hand a warning call was required before the first shot was fired. Federal Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung announced a revision of the pocket cards to respond to the changed situation in northern Afghanistan.
The Bundestag member Winfried Nachtwei ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ) accused the Afghan central government of leaving entire areas without protection by dismantling the police stations and thus promoting the detention of insurgents. The government's refusal to speak of a war was also repeatedly criticized. Minister Jung declared that one should not follow the Taliban's language and upgrade it from “terrorists” to “warriors”.
Operation Oqab was the first direct participation in an offensive for the German army since its inception.
On Friday, July 31, 2009, the Bundeswehr, in cooperation with Afghan security forces, succeeded in arresting Qari Abdul Wadoud , the commander of a Taliban cell in the Imam Sahib district, north of Kunduz in the village of Qarakator .
A return to parts of the affected areas was reported just a few days after the end of the operation. On August 1, 2009, up to 300 Taliban fighters are said to have brought the area in southern Chahar Darreh under their control.
See also
- Operation Karez (ISAF offensive with the Afghan army in the north in 2008)
- Operation Harekate Yolo (ISAF offensive with the Afghan army in the north 2007)
- Height 431
Web links
- D. Brössler and H. Leyendecker: Afghanistan: With martens and mortars. Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 17, 2010, accessed on August 18, 2020 .
- Stephan Löwenstein: Bundeswehr in Afghanistan: "Time for this escalation" , FAZ: NET, July 23, 2009
- Matthias Gebauer and Shoib Najafizada: Northern Afghanistan: Bundeswehr gets entangled in fighting against the Taliban , Spiegel Online, July 22, 2009
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Matthias Gebauer: Operation "Adler": 600 Afghan soldiers should prevent the Taliban from returning , Spiegel Online, July 30, 2009
- ^ A b Matthias Gebauer and Shoib Najafizada: Offensive in Kunduz: Afghans want to expand Taliban hunt with the Bundeswehr , Spiegel Online, July 22, 2009
- ↑ First progress on the Northern Afghanistan offensive. In: focus.de. July 23, 2009, accessed January 27, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c Stephan Löwenstein: Change of strategy: On the offensive with the "Marder" , FAZ.NET
- ^ Schneiderhan: We are capable of acting ( Memento from August 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). In: bundeswehr.de , July 22, 2009.
- ↑ July 19 airpower summary: Pave Hawks save lives. In: af.mil. US Air Force, July 21, 2009, accessed January 27, 2018 .
- ^ Afghanistan: Afghan and German forces involved in firefights ( Memento from July 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). In: bundeswehr.de , July 20, 2009.
- ↑ Bundeswehr brings unrest region under control , welt.de, July 23, 2009
- ↑ Stephan Löwenstein: Bundeswehr in Afghanistan: “Time for this escalation” . In: faz.net , July 23, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- ↑ Afghanistan mission: Green politician accuses government of trivializing , Spiegel Online, July 23, 2009
- ^ Escalation in Afghanistan. In: spiegel.de. July 22, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Thomas Wiegold : Arrest near Kunduz: wrest control from the Taliban ( memento of February 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). In: FOCUS , August 1, 2009.
- ↑ Matthias Gebauer, Shoib Najafizada: Lightning comeback of the Taliban. Spiegel Online , accessed August 2, 2009 .