Today, 15 February 2022 marks the 33rd anniversary of the defeat and withdrawal of the former Soviet Army from Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Tuesday acknowleged the victory in a statement and said it was “a glorious day in the history of Afghanistan”.

“The freedom and identity of countries depend on their efforts and masterpieces. Afghans have tested positive in this field three times in the last century, taking back and protecting the freedom and independence of their country,” the IEA’s statement read.

The IEA also stated that “our country has just been liberated from occupation for the third time”, which shows that “the feeling of freedom among Afghans is strong and they have a strong will to defend their religion and country”.

“We hope that the aggressor countries have learned many lessons from the invasions and the re-liberation of the Afghans in the last century and leave the path of enmity and hostility with our nation,” read the statement.

According to the statement, Afghans are a “peaceful and secure people but every time their peace and security has been turned into a war by foreign aggression, opportunities have been taken away from them”.

“We do not want to invade any country’s territory and we want other countries to respect each other and live in security,” the statement read.

Calling on Afghans, the IEA said that Afghans must remain vigilant against any conspiracies and plots and follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and defend the freedom and independence of their country.

Thirty-three years ago, on 15 February 1989, the former Soviet Union announced its complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, ending a nine-year war that claimed the lives of millions of Afghans.

In 1979 the Soviet Union entered then neighboring Afghanistan in the hope of shoring up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. Quickly almost 100,000 Soviet Union soldiers took control of major cities and highways around the country, but war soon broke out with the rise of the Mujahideen.

The war lasted nine years and, in that time, an estimated one million civilians, including children, were killed, along with 90,000 Mujahideen fighters, more than 20,000 Afghan troops and over 14,000 Soviet soldiers.