A Russian soldier who went missing 33
years ago during the Soviet Union’s ill-fated Afghan War has been found
alive, living a semi-nomadic existence.
Red
Army conscript Bakhretdin Khakimov was presumed dead by Soviet chiefs.
In fact, he had been wounded in battle in 1980 and was rescued and cared
for by locals.
He
adopted an Afghan name, Sheikh Abdullah, married a local woman, who
later died, and now practises herbal medicine in the western province of
Herat.
Walking wounded: Bakhretdin Khakimov was
presumed dead by Soviet chiefs, but he had been wounded in battle in
1980 and was rescued and cared for by locals
Khakimov, 53, an ethnic Uzbek, was tracked down after a search for 264 missing Red Army soldiers by a veterans’ organisation.
A
spokesman said: ‘His memory is sound and he quickly gave the names of
his parents, brothers and sister. He wants to meet his relatives.’
A reunion is expected within the next
week. His brother, Sharof, said: ‘It is very sad our parents did not
live to see today. I can’t wait to see him.’
The spokesman said Khakimov was shown pictures of other missing soldiers and recognised two also living in Herat.
Bakhretdin Khakimov before he was wounded and vanished in 1980
Some 15,000 Soviet soldiers and more
than a million Afghans were killed between 1979 and 1989 as the
Soviet-backed government in Kabul fought mujahideen armed by the West
and Islamic neighbours.
In the first decade after Soviet
withdrawal veterans found 29 missing soldiers.
Most - 22 - returned to
Russia but seven remained in Afghanistan.
The graves of 15 others were
found.
The Soviets invaded Afghanistan on December 27, 1979.
They wanted to make Afghanistan a modern
socialist state and were supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of
the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
They wanted to make Afghanistan a modern
socialist state and were supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of
the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
The official result was a 'military stalemate' and they left, largely defeated, on February 15, 1989.
The
Soviets lost 14,453 men, while there were between 850,000 and 1.5
million civilian Afghan deaths. The Mujahideen lost an estimated
75-90,000 soldiers.
At least five million Afghans fled the country during the conflict, and two million were displaced within their own country.
Discovery: Soviet
officers and soldiers leave their base outside Afghan capital Kabul as
they return to the home. Nearly 33 years after he went missing in
Afghanistan a Soviet soldier has been found
New life: An Afghan burqa-clad woman walks in
the old city of Herat - the ex-soldier is semi-nomadic and spends his
days practicing herbal medicine in the western province of Herat
DAILYMAIL
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