THE KILLING of President Najibullah brings the last chapter of the 1979 Soviet invasion to a grisly end, writes Tim McGirk, from New Delhi.
Groomed by the Kremlin, Mr Najibullah was put in charge of security during the pro-Soviet rule of Babrak Karmal.
When it became apparent to, Moscow that a full-scale offensive by Soviet troops could not blunt the Islamic guerrilla resistance, Mr Karmal was assassinated and replaced in 1986 by Mr Najibullah.
From his shelter inside the UN compound in Kabul Najibullah must have been able to hear his executioners coming closer.
At 3 a.m. the former communist ruler realised the guards outside his sanctuary inside the UN compound had deserted their posts. He radioed frantically to another UN building asking for help. Radio silence was his only reply. Soon after, Taliban guerrillas burst into the compound where Mr Najibullah had lived as a virtual prisoner for the past four-and-a-half years.
Mr Najibullah (49) was dragged out, beaten and hanged from a lamp-post near the imposing stone palace in Kabul where for six years he had presided over the killing and torture of thousands.
Nicknamed "the Ox" because of his brawny, wrestler's build, Mr, Najibullah stunned most of his foes by surviving in power long after Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. He did so by discarding hardline communists and by skillfully pitting one Afghan tribe against another. Mr Najibullah drew support from many of his own clansmen the Pathans who dominate south and central Afghanistan. The army backed him, as did many educated Afghans who regarded Mr Najibullah as their shield against Islamic extremism and tribal anarchy.
The mistake that probably cost Mr Najibullah his life was relying on the UN. As the Islamic mujaheddin groups closed in on Kabul in April 1992, he was persuaded by a UN envoy, Mr Benon Sevan, to resign even before the various Islamic guerrilla groups - backed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and, covertly, by the American CIA had agreed to honour their end of the bargain. This undermined Mr Najibullah's support in the army and, one by one, regional military commanders surrendered their garrisons to the mujaheddin without firing a shot.
As the Islamic rebels closed in on Kabul, the UN envoy tried to smuggle out Mr Najibullah to safety. But he was recognised at the airport gates and refused exit. Mr Najibullah fled to a UN compound in, Kabul and took refuge there until yesterday when he was dragged out by the Taliban.
For four years, Mr Najibullah was trapped inside the UN building and forgotten by the outside world. His only relief from boredom was listening to the BBC and watching an occasional Hindi video smuggled in by UN officials on a rare visit. The government of Burhannudin Rabbani, which emerged from the chaos of feuding warlords after Najibullah's fall, never arrested him since the former strongman was officially living under UN protection.
The niceties of UN conventions were ignored by the avenging Taliban. The new lords of Kabul have vowed to mete out the same fate to Mr Rabbani - who did flee Kabul yesterday - if they catch him.