Russians mark Afghanistan defeat

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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/02/20092158556204114.html

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Russia is set to mark the 20th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, with veterans warning that the US may repeat the mistakes Moscow made during the bloody conflict.

Events in Russia and other former Soviet states on Sunday were low-key, with wreaths laid at memorials and medals handed out to veterans.

The war, which began in 1979, left more than 13,000 Soviets dead and may have killed as many as one million Afghans.

"It's like fighting sand. No force in the world can get the better of the Afghans," Oleg Kubanov, a former officer, said at an anniversary concert in Moscow.

"It's their holy land, it doesn't matter to them if you're Russian, American. We're all soldiers to them." snip

During the Soviet invasion, Russia's military found itself bogged down in an unwinnable guerrilla war against the Mujahidin, Islamic fighters who were backed by the US and Saudi Arabia.