Editing Hafizullah Amin (section)

====Death====
{{Further|Operation Storm-333}}
[[File:Dvorec 27 12 79.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Tajbeg Palace]] on 27 December 1979, where Amin was killed]]
Amin trusted the Soviet Union until the very end, despite the deterioration of official relations, and was unaware that the tide in Moscow had turned against him since he ordered Taraki's death. When the Afghan intelligence service handed Amin a report that the Soviet Union would invade the country and topple him, Amin claimed that the report was a product of [[imperialism]]. His view can be explained by the fact that the Soviet Union, after several months, finally gave in to Amin's demands and sent troops into Afghanistan to secure the PDPA government.{{sfn|Garthoff|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mGG-x_tuNUcC&pg=PA1009 1009] }} Contrary to common Western belief, Amin was informed of the Soviet decision to send troops into Afghanistan.{{sfn|Garthoff|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mGG-x_tuNUcC&pg=PA1017 1017]}} General Tukharinov, commander of the 40th Army, met with Afghan Major General Babadzhan to talk about Soviet troop movements before the Soviet army's intervention.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9FjkLLEyh1UC&pg=PA87 87]}} On 25 December, [[Dmitry Ustinov]] issued a formal order, stating that "[t]he state frontier of the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] is to be crossed on the ground and in the air by forces of the 40th Army and the Air Force at 1500 hrs on 25 December". This was the formal beginning of the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet intervention in Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=86}}

Concerned for his safety, on 20 December Amin moved from the Presidential Palace, located in the centre of Kabul, to the [[Tajbeg Palace]], which had previously been the headquarters of the [[Central Corps]] of the [[Afghan Army]]. The palace was formidable, with walls strong enough to withstand artillery fire. According to [[Rodric Braithwaite]], "its defences had been carefully and intelligently organised".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=89}} All roads to the palace had been mined, with the exception of one, which had heavy machine guns and artillery positioned to defend it. To make matters worse for the Soviets, the Afghans had established a second line of defence which consisted of seven posts, "each manned by four sentries armed with a machine gun, a mortar, and automatic rifles".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=89}} The external defences of the palace were handled by the Presidential Guard, which consisted of 2,500 troops and three [[T-54 tank]]s.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=89}} Several Soviet commanders involved in the assassination of Amin thought the plan to attack the palace was "crazy".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=94}} Although the military had been informed by the Soviet leadership through their commanders, [[Yuri Drozdov (general)|Yuri Drozdov]] and Vasily Kolesnik, that the leader was a "CIA agent"{{sfn|Garthoff|1994|p=1046}} who had betrayed the Saur Revolution, many Soviet soldiers hesitated; despite what their commanders had told them, it seemed implausible that Amin, the leader of the PDPA government, was an American double agent. Despite several objections, the plan to assassinate Amin went ahead.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=94}}

Before resorting to killing Amin by brute force, the Soviets had tried to poison him as early as 13 December (but nearly killed his nephew instead) and to kill him with a sniper shot on his way to work (this proved impossible as the Afghans had improved their security measures).{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=94}} They even tried to poison Amin just hours before the assault on the Presidential Palace on 27 December. Amin had organised a lunch for party members to show guests his palace and to celebrate [[Ghulam Dastagir Panjsheri]]'s return from Moscow. Panjsheri's return improved the mood even further; he boasted that he and Gromyko always kept in contact with each other. During the meal, Amin and several of his guests lost consciousness as they had been poisoned. Amin survived his encounter with death, because the carbonation of the [[Coca-Cola]] he was drinking diluted the toxic agent.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Baker|first=Peter|date=29 January 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/politics/afghanistan-trump-soviet-union.html |title=Why Did Soviets Invade Afghanistan? Documents Offer History Lesson for Trump|work=The New York Times |access-date=31 January 2019|issn=0362-4331|url-status=live |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130153551/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/politics/afghanistan-trump-soviet-union.html}}</ref> [[Mikhail Talybov]], a [[KGB]] agent, was given responsibility for the poisonings.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=95}}

The assault on the palace began shortly afterward.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=96}} During the attack Amin still believed the Soviet Union was on his side, and told his adjutant, "The Soviets will help us".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=98}} The adjutant replied that it was the Soviets who were attacking them; Amin initially replied that this was a lie. Only after he tried but failed to contact the Chief of the General Staff, he muttered, "I guessed it. It's all true".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=99}} There are various accounts of how Amin died, but the exact details have never been confirmed. Amin was either killed by a deliberate attack or died by a "random burst of fire".{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=99}} Amin's son was fatally wounded and died shortly after.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=99}} His daughter was wounded, but survived.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=104}} It was Gulabzoy who had been given orders to kill Amin and Watanjar who later confirmed his death.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=99}} The men of Amin's family were all executed either immediately or shortly thereafter (his brother Abdullah and nephew [[Asadullah Amin|Asadullah]] were executed in June 1980).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/06/09/afghanistan-says-140-died-in-riots-of-april-and-may/115e113f-c265-4a3a-81b2-d958e6ddddda/ |title=Afghanistan Says 140 Died in Riots Of April and May - The Washington Post<!-- Bot generated title --> |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828140123/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/06/09/afghanistan-says-140-died-in-riots-of-april-and-may/115e113f-c265-4a3a-81b2-d958e6ddddda/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The women including his daughter were imprisoned at [[Pul-e-Charkhi prison]] until being released by President [[Mohammad Najibullah|Najibullah]] in early 1992.{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p={{pn|date=September 2024}}}} After Amin's death on 27 December 1979, [[Radio Kabul]] broadcast [[Babrak Karmal]]'s pre-recorded speech to the Afghan people, saying: "Today the torture machine of Amin has been smashed". Karmal was installed by the Soviets as the new leader{{sfn|Braithwaite|2011|p=103}} while the [[Soviet Army]] began its intervention in Afghanistan that would [[Soviet–Afghan War|last for nine years]].