Afghan Biographies

Alipur, Abdul Ghani Alipour Alipoor


Name Alipur, Abdul Ghani Alipour Alipoor
Ethnic backgr. Hazara
Date of birth
Function/Grade Hazara Militia Commander
History and Biodata

3. Biodata:
Abdul Ghani Alipur Alipour aka "Commander Sword" (Commander Shamsher, Qomandan Shamsher) is accused of serious human rights abuses, was arrested in a Hazara area of western Kabul, where a spate of suicide attacks by the radical Sunni Islamic State group has fed anger at perceived government indifference to violence against Hazaras. Despite the accusations against him, Alipur has enjoyed the support of powerful Hazara leaders. He also remains popular with many in the mainly Shi’ite Hazara community who see him as a Robin Hood-style figure who defends his people while the government stands by.

 

His paramilitary group is known for operating in Ghor, Wardak and Daykundi provinces. It participated in recent fighting in Ghazni. Has a strong support among Hazara minority. (20181125)
 

Abdul Ghani, known as Commander Alipoor, is a local leader in Behsud district in Maidan Wardak. He has many times supported public uprising forces' campaigns against the Taliban in Daikundi, Ghor, Ghazni and Maidan Wardak province. In 2018 he was in security forces' custody, and when he was released in November 2018 he signed an agreement letter with the government and committed to being ready to respond to allegations against him and added that he “will register all weapons” with the government or hand them in.

The Office of Second Vice President Sarwar Danish on late Monday, Nov 26, 2018 confirmed that commander Alipoor has been released from the detention of NDS, following the two-day violent protest in the capital Kabul. “He [Alipoor] is currently at the office of Second Vice President along with a number of tribal elders,” the office confirmed in a statement.(20181127)
 

A Shia Hazara militia led by a man named Ali Pur shot down the chopper in Behsud district of the central Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday, according to Fawad Aman, a ministry spokesperson.  Alipoor earlier confessed to the attack in a social media post, claiming that the Afghan army and foreign forces killed six of his fighters in air raids. A laser-guided anti-aircraft rocket was used to target the Afghan Air Force helicopter late on Wednesday March 17, 2021. All nine people aboard – five special forces personnel and four pilots – were killed in the attack.(20210321)

Intelligence operatives have seized about 50 weapons belonging to Abdul Ghani Alipur in the Behsud district of central Maidan Wardak province.(20220327)

Security forces have confiscated weapons belonging to a notorious illegal militia leader Alipur in central Maidan Wardak province.(20230501)


Background:

A standoff over militia commander Alipur in Ghor Province who has defied attempts to arrest him has highlighted tensions over President Ashraf Ghani’s crackdown on local strongmen operating outside central government control.

On Oct 10, 2018, security forces arrived in Lal Sar Jangal, a district in the remote and largely lawless province of Ghor, to arrest Alipur, a commander from the mainly Shi’ite Hazara minority accused of serious human rights abuses.

Their arrival set off a gunbattle that killed four police and eight civilians. Alipur, known as “Commander Sword”, escaped but a few days later reappeared in Wardak province, west of Kabul, holding a defiant rally of hundreds of supporters.

Deputy interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi called Alipur a “criminal, a highwayman and a killer” and said: “The government will continue to hunt him.”

The case has echoes of Nizamuddin Qaisari, an ethnic Uzbek militia commander in northern Faryab province close to Vice President Rashid Dostum, who was also accused of serious abuses. His arrest in July 2018 set off violent protests across northern provinces.

Mohammad Mohaqeq, a powerful Hazara leader, said Alipur was “commander of the people’s uprising force” and called the attempted arrest, “an excuse to expand the conflict in Hazara communities”.

A senior government official said Alipur took up arms and created a small, mainly Hazara force in Wardak years ago after several incidents in which Sunni militants stopped cars on the highway and killed Hazaras.

In revenge, his men would stop cars and target Pashtuns, accusing them of aiding the Taliban or anti-Shi’ite militant groups, the official said.(20181010)
 

Commander Alipour famous as “Sword” is one of old commanders of Hazara (central region of Afghanistan). Hazara people submitted all their weapon after Taliban was defeated and central Government and NATO promised to provide safety and security.
After a while Taliban gained power and central Government and NATO were incapable of providing safety (deliberately or not), commanders such as Alipour and Shojaie and… got armed to defend their people against Taliban and ISIS.

A few years ago a confrontation between Pakistani Pashtoon nomads (they spend winter in Pakistan and summer in Afghanistan) and Shiite people of Behsud and Hazara happened and Alipour helped people to defend themselves.

A statement of the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that they have found two caches of ammunitions that belong to the former prominent commander of the Hazara people, Commander Ali Poor.(20220117)

A large munition depot belonging to warlord Alipoor was discovered by Intellegence forces in Maidan Wardak province. The warehouse was discovered late Thursday Apr 21, 2022 during an operation in the village of Gardan Dewar from first district of Behsud.

 

 

Last Modified 2023-05-01
Established 2018-11-25