Saur Revolution

BelligerentsRepublic of AfghanistanPeople's Democratic Party of AfghanistanCommanders and leaders

• Mohammad Daoud KhanX
• Mohammed Naim KhanX
• Abdul Qadir NuristaniX
• Ghulam Haidar Rasuli
• Sayyid Abdulillah†
• Mohammad Nazim †
• Haji Nawaz †
• Abdul Sattar Khan †

• Nur Muhammad Taraki
• Hafizullah Amin
• Mohammad Aslam Watanjar
• Mohammed Rafie
• Abdul Qadir
• Mohammed Yakub
• Major Khaleelullah
• Nazar Mohammad

Units involved

• Afghan Armed Forces
  • Afghan Republican Army
    • 11th Infantry Division
    • 25th Infantry Division
    • 1st Central Army Corps
      • Republican Guard Brigade
      • 717th Civil Disciplinary Regiment
      • 7th Infantry Division 
      • 8th Infantry Division
    • Afghan Commando Forces
      • 242nd Parachute Battalion
      • 444th Commando Battalion
      • 455th Commando Battalion

• PDPA defectors
  • Afghan Republican Army
    • 11th Division
    • 1st Central Army Corps
      • 7th Division
      • 4th Armored Brigade
      • 15th Armored Brigade
      • 88th Heavy Artillery Brigade
    • Afghan Commando Forces
      • 242nd Parachute Battalion
      • 444th Commando Battalion
      • 455th Commando Battalion
  • Afghan Air Force
    • 322nd Air Regiment
    • 355th Air Regiment
    • 373rd Air Regiment

Strength 12,500 personnel 1,300 personnelCasualties and losses 2,000+ killed (combined)

The Saur Revolution, also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27 and 28 April 1978 by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew Afghan presidentMohammad Daoud Khan, who had himself taken power in the 1973 Afghan coup d'état and established an autocraticone-party system in the country. Daoud and most of his family were executed at the Arg presidential palace in the capital city of Kabul by Khalqist (a PDPA faction) military officers, after which his supporters were also purged and killed. The successful PDPA uprising resulted in the creation of a socialist Afghan government that was closely aligned with the Soviet Union, with Nur Muhammad Taraki serving as the PDPA's General Secretary of the Revolutionary Council. Saur (also rendered Sowr) is the Dari-language name for the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar, during which the events took place.

The uprising was ordered by PDPA member Hafizullah Amin, who would become a significant figure in the revolutionary Afghan government. At a press conference in New York City in June 1978, Amin claimed that the event was not a coup d'état, but rather a "popular revolution" carried out by the "will of the people" against Daoud's government. The Saur Revolution involved heavy fighting throughout Afghanistan and resulted in the deaths of as many as 2,000 military personnel and civilians combined. It remains a significant event in Afghanistan's history as it marked the beginning of decades of continuous conflict in the country.