Tribalism in Kabul

A Mercy Killing in Kabul | VICE: "When I first began working in Afghanistan, I knew nothing about its tribes and their rivalries. Over the years, I have learned that the country is a loosely knit conglomeration of competing ethnic groups. Chief among them are Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras. Strong animosity exists between the Pashtuns and Tajiks. The Taliban emerged from the mostly Pashtun region of southern Afghanistan. The Tajiks made up the bulk of the Northern Alliance and fiercely resisted the Taliban. Then the Taliban government collapsed in the wake of the American-led invasion following the September 11th attacks. The Northern Alliance dominated the new government led by Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun. But many Pashtuns felt Karzai served only as a figurehead to appease international demands for a multi-ethnic unity government. He held little power by himself. It was the Tajiks who ruled. Instead of unity, people retreated to their tribal affiliations and mutually held antagonism, and prepared to resume age old conflicts as soon as western military forces quit the country."