Orūzgān or
Urōzgān , also spelled
Uruzgan or
Rōzgān , is one of the thirty-four
provinces of AfghanistanThe Provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions of Afghanistan.There are currently thirty-four provinces in the country, with two having been added in 2004...
. It is in the centre of the country, though the area is culturally and tribally linked to
KandaharKandahār, also spelled Qandahār, Pashtoکندهار or قندهار is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 . It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
in the south. Its capital is
Tarin KowtTarin Kowt is the capital of Orūzgān province in southern Afghanistan. It is a town of about 10,000 people, with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar. There are no medium- or large-scale economic enterprises in the city. The provincial governor, currently Asadullah Hamdam, lives and works...
. On March 28, 2004, the new Daykundi province was carved out of an area in the north leaving Oruzgan with a majority
PashtunPashtuns , also called Pathans or ethnic Afghans, are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan...
population and Daykundi with a majority of Hazaras.
Orūzgān or
Urōzgān , also spelled
Uruzgan or
Rōzgān , is one of the thirty-four
provinces of AfghanistanThe Provinces of Afghanistan are the primary administrative divisions of Afghanistan.There are currently thirty-four provinces in the country, with two having been added in 2004...
. It is in the centre of the country, though the area is culturally and tribally linked to
KandaharKandahār, also spelled Qandahār, Pashtoکندهار or قندهار is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 . It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
in the south. Its capital is
Tarin KowtTarin Kowt is the capital of Orūzgān province in southern Afghanistan. It is a town of about 10,000 people, with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar. There are no medium- or large-scale economic enterprises in the city. The provincial governor, currently Asadullah Hamdam, lives and works...
. On March 28, 2004, the new Daykundi province was carved out of an area in the north leaving Oruzgan with a majority
PashtunPashtuns , also called Pathans or ethnic Afghans, are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan...
population and Daykundi with a majority of Hazaras. The map at right shows the provincial boundaries that resulted. But in May 2006,
Gizab DistrictGizab is a district in Orūzgān Province, Afghanistan. The district lies along the inexact line dividing Afghanistan's Pashtun tribes in the south from the Hazaras in the country's center—Gizab has a mix of Pashtun and Hazara villages. Gizab was transferred in 2004 from Oruzgan province to...
was taken back from Daykundi and re-annexed to Oruzgan, becoming Oruzgan's sixth district.
Taliban leader
Mullah OmarMullah Mohammed Omar often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban of Afghanistan and was Afghanistan's de facto head of state, and was recognized by three states, from 1996 to 2001, under the official title of Head of the Supreme Council...
may have been born in
SingesarSingesar is a village near Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is the birthplace of Taliban leader Amir al-Momineen Mullah Omar.- References :*Luke Harding, . Accessed December 26, 2007....
village, in Oruzgan province.
Geography
Oruzgan province is located in the southern region of the country having borders with Zabul and
KandaharKandahār, also spelled Qandahār, Pashtoکندهار or قندهار is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 . It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
to the south, Helmand to the southwest, Daykundi to the north and
GhazniFor the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni City is a city in central Afghanistan, with an approximate population of 141,000 people. It is the capital of Ghazni Province, situated on a plateau at 7,280 feet above sea level...
to the east. The province covers an area of 12640 km2. Nearly three quarters of the province (72%) is mountainous or
semi mountainous terrain while a little more than one-fifth (21%) of the area is made up of flat land.
Demographics
Oruzgan has an estimated population of 320,000, although statistics are unreliable. There are an estimated 45,000 households in the province, and households on average have 6 members.
Oruzgan province also has a population of
KuchisKuchis , are nomads, most often Pashtuns primarily from the Ghilzai,Kakar,Lodi,Dotani and some Durrani tribes, but occasionally they may be some non-Pashtun ethnicity, such as Baloch.-Description:...
or nomads whose numbers vary in different seasons.
Districts
align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| Districts of Orūzgān Province
| District |
Capital |
Population |
Area |
Notes |
| Chora Chora District is a district of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. The district center is the town of Chora, with a population of about 3,000. It is a rural town with no industry beyond livestock, agriculture, and small merchants....
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| Deh Rahwod Deh Rahwod is a district in Oruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, and the name of the town that serves as district seat. Deh Rahwod lies along the Helmand River...
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Deh Rawood Deh Rawood is a town in Deh Rahwod District in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. It is located 400 kilometres southwest of Kabul. Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan the area has been noted as a remaining Taliban stronghold. The area is rural with mountainous, roadless terrain....
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| Gizab Gizab is a district in Orūzgān Province, Afghanistan. The district lies along the inexact line dividing Afghanistan's Pashtun tribes in the south from the Hazaras in the country's center—Gizab has a mix of Pashtun and Hazara villages. Gizab was transferred in 2004 from Oruzgan province to...
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| Khas Uruzgan Khas Uruzgan District is a district of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan....
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| Shahidi Hassas Shahidi Hassas District is a district of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan....
(Caher Cineh) |
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| Tarin Kowt Tarin Kowt District is a district of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. The capital of the district and the province is the town called Tarin Kowt....
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Tarin Kowt Tarin Kowt is the capital of Orūzgān province in southern Afghanistan. It is a town of about 10,000 people, with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar. There are no medium- or large-scale economic enterprises in the city. The provincial governor, currently Asadullah Hamdam, lives and works...
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Recent developments
In June, 2002, a wedding party in Orūzgān was bombed by the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
, with 30 or more killed.
In the wake of the fall of the Taliban --from January 2002 through March 2006-- the province was governed by
Jan MohammedJan Mohammed Khan was the governor of Oruzgan province in southern Afghanistan from January 2002 to March 2006.He is a leader of Oruzgan's Pashtun Populzai tribe that put up fierce resistance to the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, and Khan earned a reputation as a fierce fighter who liberated Tarin...
Khan, a warlord ally of President
KarzaiHamid Karzai is the 12th President of Afghanistan, taking office in December 7, 2004. He became a prominent political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
(they are both from the Pashtun Populzai tribe). On March 18, 2006, Karzai appointed
Maulavi Abdul Hakim MunibMaulavi Abdul Hakim Munib is an Afghan politician, born about 1971. He was Governor of Oruzgan province from March 18, 2006 through August 2007, when he was replaced.- Background :...
(also spelled "Monib")("Maulavi" is a religious title), a former Taliban official who had reconciled with the Government of Afghanistan, to replace Khan. Munib was a Pashtun from
Paktia ProvincePaktia is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the east of the country. Its capital is Gardez. The population is predominantly Pashtun.- History:...
.
In August 2006, NATO assumed authority for Oruzgan from the US-led coalition, as the Netherlands took command of the PRT from the US as
Task Force UruzganThe Dutch ISAF-operation Task Force Uruzgan is part of NATO's ISAF force in Afghanistan. The Dutch lead one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern region of the country. 1,200 - 1,400 Dutch military, mandated by the Dutch Parliament in February 2006, will attempt to maintain...
. There is also an Australian element under the Dutch command.
In the summer of 2006, insurgents in Oruzgan were targeted by a NATO-Afghan military offensive called
Operation Mountain ThrustOperation Mountain Thrust was a U.S. commanded, Canadian and U.S.-led operation in the Afghanistan campaign, with more than 2,300 U.S., 3,300 British troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, about 3,500 Afghan soldiers and large air support. The operation was the largest offensive since the fall of the...
.
In September 2007, President Karzai removed Munib, who had become increasingly ineffective, and replaced him as governor with
Asadullah HamdamAssadullah Hamdam is an Afghan politician who was appointed governor of Orūzgān Province by President Hamid Karzai in September 2007, to replace Governor Maulavi Abdul Hakim Munib who had become ineffective. Assadullah is originally from Wardak Province....
, a native of nearby Zabul province.
Because of security concerns and the Taliban insurgency, no international aid agencies or NGOs have a permanent presence in Oruzgan. NATO's
ISAFInternational Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement.- Overview :...
operates a
Provincial Reconstruction TeamA Provincial Reconstruction Team is a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in late 2001 or...
(
PRTPRT may stand for:*Portal Runtime, a java based runtime technology for running SAP portal applications*Partido Revolucionario de los y las Trabajadores, a political party in Mexico*Personal rapid transit, a type of transit system*Physical Readiness Test...
), in Tarin Kowt, which transferred from US to
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
authority in August 2006. The 1,400 Dutch and 1,090 Australian troops in the area have secured only the largest population centres in Oruzgan (Dihrawud, Chora, and Tarin Kowt towns) under the Dutch "inkspot policy". However, the force's Area of Responsibility includes the entire province, which has not been secured. This includes the Gizab district, Oruzgan's most dangerous, where there is no ISAF presence. The Dutch have announced they will cut and run in 2010, abandoning their NATO Allies in Oruzgan.
Oruzgan's opium poppy crop reached record levels in 2006 and 2007, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as no significant eradication efforts were carried out by the Afghan administration or Dutch forces.
From June 15 to June 19, 2007 Dutch and Afghan soldiers
defended the town of ChoraThe Battle of Chora took place in and around the town of Chora , in Afghanistan's Orūzgān Province, between June 15 and June 19, 2007...
against an assault by Taliban combatants. Reports in the Dutch, Australian and US press indicated that the battle was one of the largest Taliban offensives of the year. The fighting resulted in the deaths of a Dutch soldier, 16 Afghan policemen, an unknown number of civilians and a large number of Taliban.
In September 2008,
Rozi KhanRozi Khan was a Pashtun Barakzai tribal leader in the Afghanistan province of Orūzgān . In the 1980s he was a Mujahideen commander fighting against the Soviets. In 2001 he was appointed police chief of Orūzgān province by President Karzai, a position he held until 2006...
, the leader of Oruzgan's Pashtun Barakzai tribe, and a longtime rival of Populzai leader
Jan MohammedJan Mohammed Khan was the governor of Oruzgan province in southern Afghanistan from January 2002 to March 2006.He is a leader of Oruzgan's Pashtun Populzai tribe that put up fierce resistance to the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, and Khan earned a reputation as a fierce fighter who liberated Tarin...
Khan, was killed in a firefight in
Chora DistrictChora District is a district of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. The district center is the town of Chora, with a population of about 3,000. It is a rural town with no industry beyond livestock, agriculture, and small merchants....
.