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Tajikistan
The Armed Forces
Tajikistan began assembling its own army in February 1993. The
initial units were drawn from Popular Front forces active in the
civil war. In the new army, those bands initially kept their distinct
identity and their old commanders. This proved to be an impediment
to the development of a cohesive military when some units resisted
subordination to any higher authority, and casualties resulted
from battles among units. Early in 1996, a rebellion by the First
Battalion of Tajikistan's army, based in the Qurghonteppa area,
brought about the replacement of the prime minister, a deputy
prime minister, and the president's chief of staff to placate
the rebel unit.
By the mid-1990s, Tajikistan's army numbered about 3,000 personnel.
Russians, many of them veterans of the war in Afghanistan, made
up almost three-quarters of the officer corps. The Russian Ministry
of Defense continued to provide material assistance to Tajikistan's
army. Through the mid-1990s, Tajikistan did not have an air force
but relied instead on Russian air power; however, the Dushanbe
government voiced the intention of purchasing some helicopters
for military use and forming an air force squadron.
Data as of March 1996
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