Chahar Dara District

Chahar Dara District (also known as Char Dara, Chahar Darreh or Char Darreh) is one of the seven districts in Kunduz Province in northern Afghanistan. It is situated in the south-west part of Kunduz Province and has borders with Qalay-I-Zal District to the north-west, Kunduz District to the north-east, Ali Abad District to the south-east, Baghlan Province to the south and Samangan Province to the south-west.

The district center is the village of Chahar Dara (also: Cardara; Ribat), which is located at 36°41′36″N 68°48′05″E / 36.6933°N 68.8014°E / 36.6933; 68.8014 at an altitude of 376 meters about five miles (eight kilometers) south-west of Kunduz.

Population

The population of Chahar Dara District is 65,100 (2006), accounting for approximately 8% of the population of Kunduz Province. Its ethnic make-up is 55% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 12% Uzbek and 8% Turkmen. Most of this population lives in villages or farms in the north-west portion of the district along the south-west bank of the Kunduz River. This land is cultivated and accounts for approximately 15% of the area of the Chahar Dara District. The remaining land in the district to the south-west comprises desert highlands that are mostly uninhabitable.

Geography

The Kunduz River valley is the dominant terrain feature in Kunduz Province, and the river forms a natural north-eastern boundary between Chahar Dara District and Kunduz District. The river, along with a major tributary and derivative canals provide irrigation to the single crop cultivation fields that dominate land usage in the north-eastern portion of Chahar Dara District. The district also has some dual crop fields. 30%pashto

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

When the Taliban were ousted from the Kunduz Province in 2001, parts of the Chahar Dara District were badly damaged. The district remained relatively peaceful until 2008, when Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, including Uzbeks and Chechens, began reappearing in the northern part of the country. In Kunduz Province, they established their main foothold in Chahar Dara District and are able to operate openly for the most part.

Beginning in April 2009, German and Afghan troops based in Kunduz made several attempts to combat the rising presence of militants in the Chahar Dara District. In July 2009, German soldiers launched their biggest military operation since World War II, to displace the militants from the district. Their operations were largely viewed as unsuccessful as the militants were not ousted from Chahar Dara ^[1].

Main article: Kunduz Province Campaign

In September 2009, at least 70 people were killed near Haji Aman in Chahar Dara District when NATO aircraft struck two oil-tankers hijacked by Taliban insurgents.^[2]

Main article: Kunduz airstrike

On 17 November 2009 it was reported that 4 security guards were killed in a battle with militants as they attacked Sediqi Construction Company. 1 Militant was also killed. ^[3]

On 10 February 2011, a suicide bomber killed a district governor and six other people in the district of Chardara in Kunduz Province, where the insurgency is well entrenched.^[4]

Reference

• AIMS District Map
• UNHCR District Profile

Notes

1. ^ "Afghanistan’s wild-wild North". The Long War Journal. http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/2009/09/afghanistans_wildwild_north.php. Retrieved 2009-09-10. 
2. ^ "Taliban attacks in north Afghanistan spike". WashingtonTimes.com. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/06/taliban-attacks-in-north-spike/. Retrieved 2009-09-10. 
3. ^ " 4 security guards of construction company killed in N Afghanistan" Xinhua Nwes. KUNDUZ. 17 November 2009. Accessed at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/17/content_12476782.htm
4. ^ King, Laura (2-10-2011). "Afghanistan suicide bomber kills district governor, 6 others". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-assassination-20110211,0,5033683.story. Retrieved 2-11-2011.