- Timeline of Afghanistan (July 2003)
__NOTOC__This is a
timeline of the history of Afghanistan in July 2003. The list is not complete and you are welcome to expand it."Tuesday,
July 1 , 2003"Phase one of the
Afghan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Program was scheduled to begin, but was delayed because Afghan authorities were slow to make crucial defense ministry reforms. The goal of phase one was to disarm 100,000 former combatants and integrate them into civilian live.An
India n consulate opened inHerat province ,Afghanistan .In a
video message on acompact disc received by theAssociated Press ,Gulbuddin Hekmatyar urged his followers to rally together and drive all U.S. and foreign troops fromAfghanistan .British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited
Kandahar ,Afghanistan and met with governorGul Agha Sherzai .Fifteen (9 miles) east of
Kabul ,Afghanistan an unknown man was killed because a bomb he was carrying went off prematurely. The blast left a 2 m (7 ft) wide crater.In
Zabul Province along theAfghanistan -Pakistan border, three rebel fighters and six Afghan government soldiers were killed in fighting."Wednesday,
July 2 , 2003"About 700 Afghan government reinforcements were the
Ata Ghar Mountains ofAfghanistan where about 60 rebel fighters have been battling government forces for four days.An Afghan military officer, Commander Basir, was shot dead by two unknown gunmen in
Herat .Some 800 U.S. soldiers backed by more than 500 Italian
paratrooper s launchedOperation Haven Denial intoKhost Province andPaktika Province ,Afghanistan . The operation was aimed at preventing the re-emergence ofterrorism and denying sanctuary to anti-coalition fighters in the region."Thursday,
July 3 , 2003"In
Mazar ,Afghanistan , four civilians and two fighters were killed in a battle between Uzbek and Tajik forces.At the
Kabul Military Training Center inAfghanistan , two U.S. special forces soldiers were wounded in an accidentalgrenade blast. They were successfully treated at Bagram.Near
Kabul ,Afghanistan , U.S. special forces seized three weapons caches that included dozens of anti-tank rockets,grenade s, mortars and landmines.About 60 rebel fighters managed to slip out of the
Ata Ghar Mountains inZabul Province ,Afghanistan , and moved into neighbouringKandahar Province . Ten rebels were killed and 16 wounded in the fighting."Friday,
July 4 , 2003"Rockets were fired at a road construction crew in southern
Afghanistan .South of
Ghazni ,Afghanistan , three rebelscarjack ed a vehicle of an NGO.Afghan police arrested a person in connection with the bombing of a
mosque inKandahar ,Afghanistan onJune 30 .Turkmenistan assuredPakistan andAfghanistan thatDaulatabad , the fifth largest gas field in the world, would remain exclusively available for theTrans-Afghan Pipeline .Near
Mazari Sharif ,Afghanistan , two people were killed and one wounded in a battle between Uzbek and Tajik forces.Three Dutch peacekeepers were wounded in
Kabul ,Afghanistan when their vehicle was hit by an explosion while they were on patrol."Saturday,
July 5 , 2003"The
Japan ese ambassador toAfghanistan ,Kinichi Komano , announced that Japan would provide $150 million in aid for reconstruction purposes, such as roads, health centers, radio and TV.Sheikh
Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for theUnited Arab Emirates receivedZalamy Rasoul , Afghan National Security Advisor."Sunday,
July 6 , 2003"An advance team of
NATO troops arrived inKabul ,Afghanistan to prepare for its take over of theInternational Security Assistance Force in August.In the
Dara-i-Suf District ofSamangan Province ,Afghanistan , three people were killed in fighting between Uzbek and Tajik forces. A multi-party peace commission andU.N. officials brokered acease-fire .Afghan President
Hamid Karzai sent a high level delegation to eastern Afghanistan to investigate alleged border violations by thePakistan i military. TheMohmand tribe were worried about Pakistan's military operations in theNangarhar and Kunar districts."Monday,
July 7 , 2003"The Afghan government announced that it had collected $56 million in revenue from provincial governors and warlords since the end of March.
John Abizaid replacedTommy Franks as head of the US Central Command.About 100 people took part in a demonstration in
Kabul ,Afghanistan , in protest against reportedPakistan i military incursions into Afghan territory.New Zealand Minister of DefenseMark Burton announced the deployment of New Zealand service men and women on a twelve-month mission toAfghanistan . Their responsibilities would focus on enhancing the security environment and promoting reconstruction efforts.The
Afghanistan Literature House opened inTehran ,Iran in theHonar Cultural Center ."Tuesday,
July 8 , 2003"In a second day of demonstrations against reported
Pakistan i military incursions into Afghan territory, a group of nearly 500 people attacked Pakistan's embassy inKabul . The windows of eight embassy cars were smashed while televisions, computers and windows were also smashed, including those in the ambassador's upstairs office.In
Mazari Sharif around 500 people held a protest outside theUnited Nations offices and burned a Pakistani flag and an effigy ofMusharraf .In reaction to attack on
Pakistan 's embassy inKabul early in the day, Pakistan lodged a formal protest with the Afghan Government. The protest prompted Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai to telephone Pakistan President GeneralPervez Musharraf directly.Amnesty International secretary generalIrene Khan met with Afghan presidentHamid Karzai inKabul to press for widespread prison reform and improved security. A new Amnesty International report found that warlords were still operating private prisons, with many civilians held in shackles and detained for months without facing trial."Wednesday,
July 9 , 2003"German Defense Minister
Peter Struck told the "Berliner Zeitung " that Germany would extend its troops' mandate inAfghanistan until at least the end of 2004.The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that 243,396Afghan refugees had returned to their homeland from various parts of the world since January 2003.Heavy rains over the last three days triggered floods in
Paktia Province ,Paktika Province ,Khost Province andLowgar Province ,Afghanistan , killing as many as 24 people and washing away sunbaked mud homes.In
Kabul ,Afghanistan , local police in riot gear protected thePakistan Embassy and blocked off nearby streets.The
Asian Development Bank announced thatAfghanistan ,Pakistan andTurkmenistan needed more studies carried out before proceeding with their $2.5 billion-trans-Afghan gas pipeline project ."Thursday,
July 10 , 2003"Afghan authorities in
Kandahar Province arrested a man and seized a large quantity of bomb-making material. The man was reported to be a brother and aide of formerTaliban defense ministerMullah Obaidullah .William B. Taylor, Jr. was named by the Bush administration to oversee U.S. policy towardAfghanistan ."Friday,
July 11 , 2003"Pakistan declined to accept aU.N. offer to mediate any differences betweenAfghanistan and Pakistan after the Pakistan Embassy was attacked by protesters earlier in the week. Security around the Afghan consulate inPeshawar was tightened.A U.S.Special Operation Forces convoy north of
Bari Kott inKhost Province ,Afghanistan received small-arms fire. One soldier was slightly injured from bumping his head in a vehicle.U.S. Special Operation Forces came under small-arms fire from unknown gunmen in
Kunduz ,Afghanistan .A rocket was fired at the U.S. base in
Kandahar Province ,Afghanistan , but it did not go off."Saturday,
July 12 , 2003"Four attackers ambushed a police patrol south of
Kandahar ,Afghanistan .Two Afghan soldiers were wounded in a skirmish with
Pakistan i troops along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan. Residents of two nearby villages were prompted to flee their homes.A bomb exploded near a movie theater in south-eastern
Afghanistan . There were no casualties.Afghan Defense Minister
Mohammad Qasim Fahim metRussia n PresidentVladimir Putin inMoscow . Putin reaffirmed the need for stability in Afghanistan and pledged further aid toKabul .A rocket landed near the perimeter of
Bagram air base inAfghanistan , but there were no casualties or damage.A blast hit a
United Nations refugee transit center inJalalabad ,Afghanistan , but there were injuries."Sunday,
July 13 , 2003"A blast damaged a building operated by a non-governmental organization (NGO) for the
U.N. .An improvised explosive device left a large whole in the wall of a warehouse run by the
German Technical Cooperation , an NGO, in the northern section ofJalalabad ,Afghanistan .In a raid near the
Pakistan border, Afghan forces seized about 300 rocket-propelled grenades, dozens of anti-tank mines and 20 AK-47 rifles."Monday,
July 14 , 2003"Afghan Foreign Minister
Abdullah Abdullah met with U.S. Secretary of StateColin Powell inWashington, DC .Rebel fighters arrived in four pickup trucks and attacked a police station to the northwest of
Kandahar ,Afghanistan . Five officers were killed in the 30 minute clash.An improvised explosive device disabled a coalition vehicle near the U.S. embassy in
Kabul ,Afghanistan . No one was injured.Near a border post in
Yegobi District ofNangarhar Province ,Afghanistan , armed clashes between Afghanistan andPakistan lasted for about one hour.Following an investigation by
Scotland Yard 's anti-terrorist branch,Zardad Khan was arrested inLondon ."Tuesday,
July 15 , 2003"The
United Nations High Commission for Refugees reported that about 8,000 Afghans had been moved to other camps inPakistan , while about 11,000 had been sent to a camp nearKandhar . Therefugee s had been living in a makeshift camp in the south-western Pakistani border town ofChaman since February 2002.Afghan police officer
Sayed Nabi Siddiqui was detained by U.S. forces after he reported police corruption and was then accused of being a member of theTaliban ."Wednesday,
July 16 , 2003"In the
Ghorak District ofKandahar ,Afghanistan , more than 400 Afghan soldiers and police searched houses forTaliban suspected of killing five policemen earlier in the week. Twelve villagers were picked up on suspicion of helping the Taliban.Indian Oil Corporation andGAIL submitted bids for construction of a $2.5 billionTurkmenistan -Afghanistan -Pakistan pipeline, which will movenatural gas (Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline ) from Turkmenistan'sDauletabad gas field via Afghanistan to Pakistan'sMultan .Lorne Craner , the U.S. assistant secretary of state for human rights, began a three-day visit toAfghanistan ."Thursday,
July 17 , 2003"Afghan interim President
Hamid Karzai issued a decree to convene a 500-memberloya jirga onOctober 1 ,2003 that would approve a draft of the country's new constitution. Karzai said that 450 members would be elected and 50 would be appointed.The Afghan government paid
Pakistan 2.8 million Afghanis (the equivalent of three millionrupee s) in compensation for the armed attack on Pakistan embassy inKabul July 8 . The payment was delivered in cash.Canadian troops took control of the
Kabul Multinational Brigade (KMNB) of theInternational Security Assistance Force inKabul ,Afghanistan . Brig. Gen.Peter Devlin assumed command fromGermany 's Brig. Gen.Werner Freers during a ceremony in easternKabul . At the time, the KMNB was made up of around 3,000 soldiers.The
United Nations Population Fund and the government ofItaly inaugurated the rebuiltKhair Khana hospital inKabul ,Afghanistan , that would provide pregnant women clean and safe conditions for childbirth.Pakistan i border security forces arrested 48 Afghans for illegally crossing intoPakistan nearChaman . The Afghans were then turned over to the Afghan government.Three or four rockets were fired at a border checkpoint near
Khost ,Afghanistan . There were no casualties or damages.Sixteen Afghan prisoners from
Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay,Cuba arrived by plane at theBagram Air Base inAfghanistan . The released Afghan prisoners were not allowed to talk to journalists."Friday,
July 18 , 2003"Eight Afghan government soldiers, in a car travelling about 25 kilometers east of
Khost , were killed by a remote-control mine. The soldiers were part of a special unit working with the U.S.-led coalition forces to monitor the regions that borderPakistan .Afghanistan was officially reinstated as a full member of theInternational Association of Athletic Federations . Afghanistan had originally joined the IAAF in 1930. Following the lead of theInternational Olympic Committee , the IAAF suspended Afghanistan in 1999 because of theTaliban ban on the participation of women athletes. The IOC lifted its suspension onJune 29 .Three U.S. soldiers were wounded when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device detonated in the middle of their convoy approximately eight kilometers south of
Asad Abad ,Afghanistan .A U.S. military base at
Spin Boldak ,Afghanistan came under rocket attack but there were no casualties."Saturday,
July 19 , 2003"North of
Orgun ,Afghanistan , two soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition forces were wounded when their patrol was ambushed by automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.One man was killed and another wounded when they set off a
land mine while digging a well near a police station inChilstoon inKabul ,Afghanistan . The mine was likely left over from factional fighting in the 1990s.Sixteen Afghans who arrived in
Kabul ,Afghanistan fromCamp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay,Cuba onJuly 17 were freed and handed over to theInternational Committee of the Red Cross .Afghan authorities confiscated hundreds of copies of the weekly
newspaper Payam-e-Mujahid , owned by theAfghan Northern Alliance , after it published an article accusing PresidentHamid Karzai of making the apology under pressure from a U.S. ambassador and described it as a dishonor for Afghans. The article demanded that Karzai resign. The confiscation was ordered by Defense MinisterMohammad Qasim Fahim .U.S.-led coalition forces killed up to two dozen rebels in a clash near
Spin Boldak ,Afghanistan .Several Afghan troops were killed as dozens of heavily armed rebel fighters attacked a border post near
Spin Boldak ,Afghanistan . After the five-hour battle, the rebels escaped across the border intoPakistan ."Monday,
July 21 , 2003"The
Pakistan i embassy inKabul ,Afghanistan reopened after having been ransacked by angry crowds onJuly 8 .The
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement announced that the network of 50 health clinics inAfghanistan were in danger of severe cutbacks due to a lack of money. To date, the Red Cross had only received about one-fourth of the $10 million for which it had requested.About 100 Canadian troops (the first of 1,800) arrived in
Kabul ,Afghanistan to serve with theISAF ."Tuesday,
July 22 , 2003"A fire (which started in a timber shop after a wood-sawing machine overheated) in
Jalalabad ,Afghanistan , destroyed more than a hundred shops and other buildings.In
Afghanistan , rockets landed near U.S.-coalition bases inKandahar Province andPaktika Province . There were no coalition casualties.A patrol of U.S. soldiers was ambushed in
Asadabad province ,Afghanistan . There were no casualties."Wednesday,
July 23 , 2003"In the
Zormat Valley region of the southernPaktia Province inAfghanistan , about 1,000 soldiers of theAfghan National Army , together U.S.-led coalition troops, were deployed inOperation Warrior Sweep . It marked first major combat operation for the Afghan troops.In
Islamabad ,Pakistan , Afghan Interior MinisterAli Ahmad Jalali met Pakistani Interior MinisterFaisal Saleh Hayat and Prime MinisterZafarullah Khan Jamali on the first of a two-day visit. The visit was aimed at developing cooperation in the fight againstterrorism and to remove recent strains in relations. An agreement was made for Pakistan to train Afghan border security agencies and members of the Afghan police force.After two rockets landed near a U.S. base at Asadabad in
Kunar Province ,Afghanistan , coalition troops called in air strikes by aB-52 Stratofortress (which droppedJoint Direct Attack Munition s) and twoAV-8 Harrier II s (which droppedPrecision-guided munition s.)"Thursday,
July 24 , 2003"In
Kabul ,Afghanistan , U.S. GeneralJohn Abizaid Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai .More than 200 Afghan
refugee s inBrussels began ahunger strike inSainte-Croix Church . They said they would rather die than go back to a country they considered too dangerous."Friday,
July 25 , 2003"Six Afghan policemen were wounded, two seriously, when their vehicle hit a
land mine about 50 km (31 miles) east ofKandahar .Near
Kandahar ,Afghanistan , an Afghan soldier was wounded by aland mine while chasing rebels who fired a rocket at a government post.Zardad Khan made his first court appearance inLondon ,England ."Saturday,
July 26 , 2003"Under a pilot
telekiosk project funded by the French government, the telekiosk.moc.gov.afwebsite was launched inAfghanistan . In bothDari andEnglish language , the site provided links to government and health information, job listings and business information. The site also provided community forums, information on local hotels and restaurants, and a Dari-English phrasebook.Mullah
Mohammed Omar approved MullahAbdul Samad as the new deputy military commander for southernAfghanistan and ordered him to intensify guerrilla attacks on U.S. and coalition forces."Sunday,
July 27 , 2003"Telecom Development Company Afghanistan began offeringwireless phone service to consumers inAfghanistan , breaking a year-longmonopoly held byAfghan Wireless Communication .The
Taliban named Mullah Abdul Jabar as the rival governor inZabul Province ,Afghanistan .cite news
url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_28-7-2003_pg7_1
title=UN-govt body to monitor Afghan polls
page=
pages=
publisher=Daily Times (Pakistan)
author=
date=July 28 ,2003
accessdate=2008-02-09]In
Spin Boldak ,Afghanistan , posters appeared that threatened death to twenty-five informers accused of collaborating with U.S. and government forces.A ground-breaking ceremony took place in
Tehran ,Iran to mark the start of construction of a four-kilometer Milak-Zaranj road. Iran allocated US$849,847 for the project. Iran'sHossein Amini and Afghanistan'sKarim Barahouei attended the ceremony."Monday,
July 28 , 2003"The
United States State Department warned U.S. citizens inAfghanistan that the security environment in the country was "volatile and unpredictable.""Tuesday,
July 29 , 2003"The
UNHCR announced that, with its support, more than 300,000Afghan refugees had returned home in 2003.Human Rights Watch released a report that, inAfghanistan , U.S.-led coalition support for warlords was destabilizing the nation and could threaten the elections of 2004. Abuses carried out by theAfghan National Army and local police were also highlighted, includingkidnapping s, burglaries,rape s, intimidation, harassment of journalists, andextortion s.During a
United Nations Security Council debate,India n AmbassadorVijay K. Nambiar expressed concern that, through charities and drug trade,al Qaeda still had the ability to finance its own activities. He also voiced concerns that al Qaeda continued to procure weapons through the border withPakistan . Nambiar demanded an inquiry.In
Naish , 40 miles (60 km) north ofKandahar ,Afghanistan , about two dozen rebels ambushed government troops in southern Afghanistan, killing at least two soldiers and torching two NGO vehicles before fleeing.To sort out their border dispute along the tribal region dividing them,
Pakistan andAfghanistan agreed to use, with the assistance of the U.S.,GPS to work out the coordinates of the border.British authorities deported to
Afghanistan a group of forty-seven Afghans who failed to obtain political asylum in the U.K.."Wednesday,
July 30 , 2003"U.S. General
Richard Myers , chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff , said in an interview that the largest threat toAfghanistan 's new government comes from across the border ofPakistan .In
Nakhohni , five miles (8 km) south ofKandahar ,Afghanistan , two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed Mullah Jinab, a member of theUlema Shoora , as he was coming out of a local mosque after evening prayers."Thursday,
July 31 , 2003"The
European Union announced that it would donate €79.5 million to support reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. The money is meant to support de-mining, the building of a health system, and other public infrastructure projects.The
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization predicted that the 2003wheat harvest inAfghanistan would be the largest in 20 years, due to increased rainfall, increased international aid, and continued success in dealing withlocust s.Malnutrition remains a serious problem in the country, however.In
Kabul ,Afghanistan , threeAfghan National Army officers were wounded when U.S. forces fired on their taxi. [http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3197426]U.S. forces in
Afghanistan killed at least three suspected insurgents in a firefight near the U.S. base in Asadabad, inKunar Province .The
Pakistan i army moved into parts of its northwest tribal areas to flush outTaliban remnants. This marked the first time Pakistan had taken such action.Flood s in thePanjshir Valley ofAfghanistan triggered a landslide which killed 30 people and swept away 400 cattle.United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan urged theUnited Nations Security Council to expand the mandate of theInternational Security Assistance Force to other key Afghan cities in order to create a better environment for the elections slated in the summer of 2004.After a gun battle south of
Kandahar ,Afghanistan , Afghan security forces killed one suspectedTaliban member and arrested five others.References
"See also"
Timeline of the War in Afghanistan:
<< June 2003 | July 2003 | August 2003 >>
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