Marja, Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
Marja is an unincorporated agricultural district in Nad Ali District
, Helmand Province
, Afghanistan
, southwest of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. The name Marja is also applied to a small location within the district where a number of farmers' markets, shops and a mosque are located. The population of the Marja district is 80,000 - 125,000 spread across 80 - 125 square miles (323.7 km²), an area larger than Cleveland or Washington D.C.. During the February 2010 Operation Moshtarak
, the largely rural community of Marja was repeatedly described in the press as a "town" and even "city", following a 2 February 2010 briefing by US Marines.
fields, which are a source of funds for the Taliban. According to one figure, 10% of global illicit opium production in the year 2000 originated from the Marja/Nad-i-Ali area. During the 1950s and 1960s the United States government irrigated
the fields around Marja (Lashkar Gah/Helmand was nicknamed "Little America"), with many canals remaining to this day.
In conjunction with this American-led development, which included building and staffing a number of local schools, the Afghan government jump-started a program in 1959 to resettle Pashtun
nomads to the area, providing them each with "almost 15 acres of land, two oxen and free seeds", with a focus on growing wheat. Besides facing a number of technical problems, the development/resettlement program had the political aim of minimizing spillover of the Pashtun independence
movement from across the Durand Line
in Pakistan
.
, describing it as "a key hub for militant and criminal operations". The area was emptied of civilians and precision air strikes were employed resulting in seizure of 92 tonnes of poppy
seeds, along with tar opium, processed morphine
, heroin and hashish
, "severely disrupting" an alleged narcotics center and command hub of the Taliban insurgency
. The US military also said that a large amount of weapons and bomb-making equipment was seized during the operation.
In July 2009, Afghan shopkeepers in Nawa
, a town southeast of Marja, told the media that some 300 to 600 Taliban had left their village when a Marine battalion moved in and proceeded to retreat to Marja. In December 2009 it was still called "the most fearsome Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province" in an area out of ISAF
control during the Taliban insurgency. According to U.S. Marine commanders Marja was a sanctuary for some 1,000 fighters.
, a NATO-Afghan
joint offensive involving 15,000 Afghan, Canadian
, French
, American, and British
troops. It constituted the largest joint operation of the war up to that point and aimed to remove the Taliban from Marja (described as a "town" or "city" of 80,000 - 125,000 inhabitants) and hold the area down, eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand. The operation was launched on 13 February 2010.
NATO and Afghan forces encountered heavy resistance from the Taliban but succeeded in forcing the insurgents to retreat. The intensity of the fighting increased as each day progressed and the Coalition started to suffer heavy casualties because of improvised bombs and Taliban sniper-fire.
During the February 2010 Operation Moshtarak
, the rural agricultural district of Marja was repeatedly described in the press as a "town" or even "city", following a 2 February 2010 briefing by US Marines. Population estimates varied from 80,000 - 85,000, to around 125,000 when surrounding areas were included in the count. Other observers expressed doubts over those estimates, believing them much too large when compared with overhead images of the area. According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War, "Press reports suggest that Marjah is home to some 50,000 to 80,000 inhabitants, but they are likely referring to the entire district of Nad Ali
. The population of Marjah itself and the surrounding villages is certainly less than 50,000". Other experts associated with ISAF described Marja as a "rural community" and "a collection of village farms".
Nad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
, Helmand Province
Helmand Province
Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, southwest of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. The name Marja is also applied to a small location within the district where a number of farmers' markets, shops and a mosque are located. The population of the Marja district is 80,000 - 125,000 spread across 80 - 125 square miles (323.7 km²), an area larger than Cleveland or Washington D.C.. During the February 2010 Operation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak was an ISAF pacification offensive in the area that is described as the "poppy-growing belt" of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. The combat operations started on February 13, 2010, and focuses on the Nad Ali District and Lashkar Gah district...
, the largely rural community of Marja was repeatedly described in the press as a "town" and even "city", following a 2 February 2010 briefing by US Marines.
Population and economy
Marja is geographically situated in one of Afghanistan's major belts of poppyPoppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
fields, which are a source of funds for the Taliban. According to one figure, 10% of global illicit opium production in the year 2000 originated from the Marja/Nad-i-Ali area. During the 1950s and 1960s the United States government irrigated
Helmand Valley Authority
The Helmand Valley Authority was an agricultural project financed by the United States of America in Afghanistan from 1949-1963 along the Helmand River and Arghandab River.-References:*...
the fields around Marja (Lashkar Gah/Helmand was nicknamed "Little America"), with many canals remaining to this day.
In conjunction with this American-led development, which included building and staffing a number of local schools, the Afghan government jump-started a program in 1959 to resettle Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
nomads to the area, providing them each with "almost 15 acres of land, two oxen and free seeds", with a focus on growing wheat. Besides facing a number of technical problems, the development/resettlement program had the political aim of minimizing spillover of the Pashtun independence
Pashtunistan
Pakhtunistan or Pashtunistan, meaning the "land of Pakhtuns" or "land of Pashtuns", is a modern term used for the historical region inhabited by the native Afghans or Pashtun since at least the 1st millennium BC...
movement from across the Durand Line
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Climate
Data collected in the 1950s in the Marja/Chah-i-Anjirs area showed an average rainfall of over one inch per month from December through March, peaking in January at 2.46 inches. The rest of the year experienced little or no precipitation, and besides January, there was actually a consistent net loss of water through evaporation. June, July, and August experienced average high temperatures of over 100 °F (37.8 °C), while the average lows in winter bottomed out at just above freezing in December and January.Afghan War
In May 2009 in a joint operation, international and Afghan troops killed 60 militants and seized a record amount of drugs during a four-day attack targeted at the town's bazaarBazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
, describing it as "a key hub for militant and criminal operations". The area was emptied of civilians and precision air strikes were employed resulting in seizure of 92 tonnes of poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
seeds, along with tar opium, processed morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, heroin and hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
, "severely disrupting" an alleged narcotics center and command hub of the Taliban insurgency
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
. The US military also said that a large amount of weapons and bomb-making equipment was seized during the operation.
In July 2009, Afghan shopkeepers in Nawa
Nawa-I-Barakzayi
Nawa-I-Barakzayi is a village and the district center of Nawa-I-Barakzayi District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at 744 m altitude near the Helmand River....
, a town southeast of Marja, told the media that some 300 to 600 Taliban had left their village when a Marine battalion moved in and proceeded to retreat to Marja. In December 2009 it was still called "the most fearsome Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province" in an area out of ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
control during the Taliban insurgency. According to U.S. Marine commanders Marja was a sanctuary for some 1,000 fighters.
2010 offensive
Marja was the target of Operation MoshtarakOperation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak was an ISAF pacification offensive in the area that is described as the "poppy-growing belt" of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. The combat operations started on February 13, 2010, and focuses on the Nad Ali District and Lashkar Gah district...
, a NATO-Afghan
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
joint offensive involving 15,000 Afghan, Canadian
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
, French
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, American, and British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
troops. It constituted the largest joint operation of the war up to that point and aimed to remove the Taliban from Marja (described as a "town" or "city" of 80,000 - 125,000 inhabitants) and hold the area down, eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand. The operation was launched on 13 February 2010.
NATO and Afghan forces encountered heavy resistance from the Taliban but succeeded in forcing the insurgents to retreat. The intensity of the fighting increased as each day progressed and the Coalition started to suffer heavy casualties because of improvised bombs and Taliban sniper-fire.
During the February 2010 Operation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak
Operation Moshtarak was an ISAF pacification offensive in the area that is described as the "poppy-growing belt" of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. The combat operations started on February 13, 2010, and focuses on the Nad Ali District and Lashkar Gah district...
, the rural agricultural district of Marja was repeatedly described in the press as a "town" or even "city", following a 2 February 2010 briefing by US Marines. Population estimates varied from 80,000 - 85,000, to around 125,000 when surrounding areas were included in the count. Other observers expressed doubts over those estimates, believing them much too large when compared with overhead images of the area. According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War, "Press reports suggest that Marjah is home to some 50,000 to 80,000 inhabitants, but they are likely referring to the entire district of Nad Ali
Nad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
. The population of Marjah itself and the surrounding villages is certainly less than 50,000". Other experts associated with ISAF described Marja as a "rural community" and "a collection of village farms".