Babrak Karmal Considering the fact that the Soviet Union had supported Karmal for over six years, the Soviet leadership wanted to ease him out of power gradually. Yuli Vorontsov, the Soviet ambassador to Afghanistan, told Najibullah to begin undermining Karmal's power slowly. Najibullah complained to the Soviet leadership that Karmal used most of his spare time looking for errors and "speaking against the National Reconciliation [programme]". At a meeting of the Soviet Politburo on 13 November 1986 it was decided that Najibullah should remove Karmal; this motion was supported by Gromyko, Vorontsov, Eduard Shevardnadze, Anatoly Dobrynin and Viktor Chebrikov. A PDPA meeting
1979 in Afghanistan one time estimated to number 140,000. Amin is overthrown and killed in a coup backed by Soviet troops. Viktor Karpukhin carries out the taking of the presidential palace, in which two Soviet soldiers are killed. Ex-deputy prime minister Karmal, who has been in exile in Czechoslovakia, is picked as Amin's successor. The Soviets have begun a massive military airlift into Kabul, and at least two motorized divisions have crossed the Soviet-Afghan border. Babrak Karmal, whose Parcham party spearheaded the coup against Daud but later lost power to the faction led by Taraki and Amin, is considered more pro-Soviet than Amin