The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group and the traditional rulers of Afghanistan, making up 38% of the population; the main minorities are Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. It is these ethnic divisions which have largely, though not exclusively, determined the intra-"mujahideen" feuding that has plagued the country since April 1992. Assaults on Kabul by the "Hezb-i-Islami" group represent an attempt by the Pashtuns to retake control of the capital, which is now under the precarious control of a TajikûUzbek alliance. The "Hezb-i-Islami" group's main rivals are the predominantly Tajik "Jamiat-i-Islami."
Some two million of the country's population were killed as a result of the 1979û1989 war, which followed invasion by the Soviet Union. As many again were maimed. A further six million were forced to flee to neighboring Pakistan and Iran; most have not yet been able to return. Women in Afghanistan have few rights in what is rapidly becoming a male-dominated Islamic fundamentalist society. They are officially discouraged from working and are largely confined to the home.
