Amin's short-lived presidency was marked by controversies from beginning to end. He came to power by disposing of his predecessor Nur Muhammad Taraki and later ordering his death. Amin made attempts to win support from those who revolted against the communist regime which had begun under Taraki, but his government was unable to solve this problem. Many Afghans held Amin responsible for the regime's harshest measures, such as ordering thousands of executions. Thousands of people disappeared without trace during his time in office. The Soviet Union, which was dissatisfied with Amin, intervened in Afghanistan while invoking the Twenty-Year Treaty of Friendship between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Amin was assassinated by the Soviets on 27 December 1979 as part of Operation Storm-333, having ruled for slightly longer than three months.