Image source,GETTY IMAGES
Many Afghans chose to take refuge in Kabul.
According to reports, Afghan Taliban soldiers are entering the capital Kabul “from all directions” and encounter little resistance.
Kabul is currently the last major city controlled by the Afghan government forces. If it falls, it will mean that the Taliban will regain full control of Afghanistan.
The Afghan President’s Office released a message via social media, stating that the situation is still “under control”.
“There have been sporadic shootings in Kabul. Kabul has not been attacked. The country’s security and defense forces are working with international partners to ensure the safety of the city and the situation is under control,” the statement read in Pashto.
The Taliban are entering the capital “from all directions”
Photos on social media showed many residents gathered outside banks, foreign embassies and visa offices.
Reuters quoted NATO officials as saying that several EU staff had been transferred to a secret safe location in Kabul.
According to the report, a US official confirmed that only less than 50 US Embassy employees will be left. The embassy core team is currently working at Kabul Airport.
The Taliban have gone one step further towards regaining full control of Afghanistan. On August 15, Taliban fighters seized control of the key eastern city of Jalalabad without fighting.
The day before, they also captured Mazar-i-Sharif, the last major northern city under the control of the Afghan government.
The rapid collapse of the Afghan government forces has increased the pressure on President Ashraf Ghani to resign.
Ghani may face a serious choice: surrender or a battle to defend the capital.
At the same time, the United States has begun to evacuate staff from its embassy in Kabul. On the morning of the 15th, the staff of the US embassy were taken to the airport and they were seen boarding six large military transport planes. To assist in this operation, the United States has deployed 5,000 troops.
U.S. President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, stating that he could not find a justification for “the endless existence of the United States in another country’s civil war.”
Situation in Afghanistan: BBC reporters visit a small town under the control of the Taliban
What happened in Jalalabad?
On the morning of the 15th, it was reported that the Taliban had occupied Jalalabad, the capital city of Nangarhar Province, without firing a single shot.
“There is currently no conflict in Jalalabad because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban,” a local official told Reuters.
“Allowing the Taliban to pass is the only way to save civilians.”
The journalist Tariq Ghazniwal posted a set of photos on Twitter. The photos allegedly showed the governor of the province handing over control to the Taliban.
(The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
The capture of Jalalabad means that the Taliban have mastered the road link between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Prior to this, Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh and the fourth largest city in Afghanistan, was also controlled by the Taliban without a war.
Abas Ebrahimzada, a member of the Balkh province, told the Associated Press that the Afghan government forces surrendered first, and pro-government forces and other militias followed suit.
At present, the insurgents have controlled 23 of the 34 capital cities of Afghanistan.
What is the current situation in Kabul?
Affected by the violent conflict, more than 250,000 people in Afghanistan have left their hometowns and moved elsewhere. Many people have chosen to flee to Kabul in search of safety.
Some people who fled from Taliban-controlled areas said that militants there demanded that families hand over unmarried girls and women to become their soldiers’ wives.
Muzhda, a 35-year-old single woman, fled to Kabul from Parwan province with her two sisters. She said that she would rather take her own life than let the Taliban force her to marry.
“I cry every day and night,” she told AFP.
Image source,Reuters
Afghan President Ghani may face a serious choice: surrender or a battle to defend the capital.
Women in areas controlled by the Taliban stated that they were forced to wear burkas that cover their faces and bodies. Others claimed that the Taliban beat and whipped people who violated social regulations.
“God bless us not to see war in Kabul,” Sayed Akbar, a 53-year-old Kabul resident, told the New York Times. “People here have experienced 40 years of sorrow. The road we are walking is built with people’s bones.”
A 17-year-old resident who uses only Abdullah to address his own name told AFP that he and his family fled here after being controlled by the Taliban in Kunduz in the north and are currently sleeping. In a tent in a park in Kabul.
He claimed that he and other young people in Kunduz were forced to carry rocket-propelled grenades and other ammunition for the militants.
Image source,AFP
The Afghan police are adding manpower at checkpoints in Kabul.
To withdraw their savings, Kabul residents have lined up in the bank. According to reports, some branches no longer have cash.
There are also reports of riots in Prichaki Prison on the outskirts of Kabul. Local residents said they heard gunfire from the inside.
How is the Afghan government blocking the Taliban?
In a pre-recorded televised speech on the 14th, Afghan President Ghani stated that the top priority is to re-mobilize the Afghan armed forces to prevent more destruction and more displacement.
Before this speech, some voices speculated that Ghani might be about to announce his resignation.
The United Nations calls on Afghanistan’s neighboring countries to keep their borders open so that the displaced Afghans can arrive safely. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the current situation is out of control.
Image source,GETTY IMAGES
Many families who fled to Kabul live in makeshift camps.
In recent weeks, the violence in Afghanistan has been escalating due to the almost complete withdrawal of US-led troops after 20 years of military operations.
U.S. President Biden stated that about 5,000 military personnel have been deployed, “to ensure that we can evacuate American personnel and other allies in an orderly and safe manner, and that the evacuation has helped our troops in an orderly and safe manner during our mission. Of Afghans, and those facing special threats from the Taliban.”
About 600 British troops plan to arrive in Kabul this weekend to help Britain evacuate overseas Chinese. They will also assist in the relocation of Afghans who have helped British troops but are now at risk of reprisals from Afghanistan.
Other Western countries are also evacuating overseas Chinese from Afghanistan, reducing the size of their personnel in Afghanistan, and some countries even chose to close their embassies.
Milestones of the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan
- September 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, launched the largest terrorist attack in the history of the United States. Four civil aviation airliners were hijacked. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the building to collapse. One crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, and the other crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
- October 7, 2001: The coalition forces headed by the United States began airstrikes and bombed the facilities of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Including multiple targets in Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad. The Taliban’s air defense system and small fighter fleet were destroyed.
- November 13, 2001: The “Northern Alliance”, an anti-Taliban organization supported by multinational coalition forces, invaded Kabul, and the Taliban fled the capital. As of that day, Taliban members in Afghanistan had either fled to remote areas or were wiped out. Taliban rule in other cities also quickly ended.
- January 26, 2004: After long-term negotiations by the tribal leaders’ assembly, Afghanistan promulgated a new constitution, which paved the way for the presidential election in October of that year.
- December 7, 2004: Hamid Karzai became the first president under the new constitution. He then served as president for ten years.
- May 2006: The British arrived in Helmand, a stronghold of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Their initial mission was to support the reconstruction project, but they were soon involved in the war. More than 450 British soldiers were killed in the conflict in Afghanistan.
- February 17, 2009: The then President of the United States, Barack Obama, approved a substantial increase in US troops to Afghanistan. At its peak, there were approximately 140,000 people.
- May 2, 2011: The US Navy SEALs raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and the leader of Al Qaeda who was hiding there was shot dead. This operation ended the 10-year hunt for the Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.
- April 23, 2013: The Taliban founder Mohammed Omar (Mohammed Omar) passed away. The news of his death was kept secret for more than two years.
- December 28, 2014: NATO ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, and the United States withdrew thousands of soldiers.
- 2015: The Taliban launched a series of suicide attacks and bombings. The Kabul Parliament Building and Kunduz were attacked. The so-called “Islamic State” militants began operations in Afghanistan.
- February 29, 2020: The United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar. The United States and NATO allies agreed that if the militants abide by the agreement, allied forces will withdraw all troops within 14 months.
- September 11, 2021: The US military plans to complete its withdrawal before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 incident. There are indications that the withdrawal may be completed before the official deadline.