The Soviet December 1979 coup in Afghanistan

About the operation itself. Amin came to power via a military coup, overthrowing his predecessor Taraki. His rule quickly led to a deterioration in relations with the USSR, the Soviets viewed this country as a strategically important ally in the region. Amin pursued policies that caused discontent among both the countrys population & Kremlin, so at the end of 1979, the Soviet leadership decided to remove him from power, because he was considered unreliable and potentially hostile to the USSR, by the way also suspected him of having ties with the cold war enemies. It was planned to replace him with the more loyal Karmal and in order to do so the special combat groups Thunder and Zenith, reinforced by fighters from the Muslim Battalion, were chosen to carry out the Storm 333 Operation. The special forces, who wore Afghan uniforms, encountered strong resistance from the palace guards, including machine gun and grenade launcher fire. The goal of the operation was not only to take the palace, but also to deprive the enemy of communications, so a preliminary reconnaissance was conducted, during which data was collected on the structure of the security and communications system in the palace. As a result of the operation, Amin was murdered. There are several versions of his death: according to one of them, he was killed by a sniper, according to another as a result of a direct assault on his personal apartments. The special forces suffered losses during Storm 333 Operation: fourteen fighters went KIA, thirteen WIA. The Amin' side lost about two hundred soldiers and another seventeen hundred surrendered.

The Soviets tried to play the same game they played in Eastern Europe: put in charge loyalists. They didn't want Afghanistan to become an independent-minded Communist country, something like Romania, or, God forbid, Yugoslavia. So Amin's removal was necessary. Apparently, they didn't realise that Afghanistan isn't an Eastern European country, and didn't take into account its border with Pakistan, raising Islamism in rich Arab countries, and the US determination to crash their party.

Plus the Coalition of the willing including the UK, Israel, Iran, Egypt , China, and Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Gull the Pakistani Inner Services Bureau officer in charge of logistical support for the Muhajadian in Pakistan said without money from the Gull Arabs needed supplies from the port of Karachi to Afghanistan would not of taken place.
Leftyhunter

Amin was mentally unstable, couldn't control the country and became a liability after purging minorities and moderate members of the Afghan Socialist Party.

Hydrok9 said:

Amin was mentally unstable, couldn't control the country and became a liability after purging minorities and moderate members of the Afghan Socialist Party.

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Abdul Karim Misaq, the finance minister in the governments of Taraki and Amin, an ethnic Hazara, considered Amin as Pashtun chauvinist and a Stalinist. He noted that Amin in every possible way inflated his own cult and his thirst for fame had no boundaries. No info about his mental instability, though his methods were indeed problematic.