Kabul, the final prize in every war in Afghanistan, fell on Sunday to the Taliban, which completed its takeover of the country in a mild attack that saw the provinces and warlords lose a fight days after a hasty withdrawal of US troops. Got it.
President Ashraf Ghani, sources said, hadi fled the countryHours after Pakistan-backed Taliban fighters arrived on the outskirts of Kabul and their chiefs called for a transfer of power to avoid bloodshed.
It is the first time Taliban fighters have entered the city since their expulsion in the wake of the 9/11 attacks 20 years earlier – they first captured the capital in 1996. Late at night, fighters in pickups and SUVs went on to win rounds. heart of kabul
There was no official statement on Ghani’s departure or interim power arrangements were made.
(The Associated Press reported that Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, had confirmed Ghani’s departure. “The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” Abdullah said. “May God hold him accountable. .”)
The city’s fate was sealed – Kabul was the last major city under government control since the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday evening – when the Taliban were spotted on the outskirts on Sunday.
The news of his arrival spread like wild fire and there was a stir in the city. There were traffic jams everywhere, and people rushed home to stock up on essentials to withdraw money from banks.
By noon, the fall of the city was more or less complete. Streets were evacuated, and helicopters flew over the downtown area, home to all major offices and embassies.
As helicopters evacuated personnel from the US embassy, smoke began to rise from the premises, suggesting destruction of documents, equipment. The US ambassador was among those who are said to have been evacuated. Several other foreign missions also ramped up their exit plans.
The Taliban moved into Kabul and other nearby cities and towns after capturing the major northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Saturday night.
After the soldiers surrendered there on Sunday, the Taliban rushed to the Bagram airbase. It also took over a prison where hundreds of Taliban and Islamic State members were being held. Among the cities that fell was Jalalabad in the past. By evening the Afghan army and regime had been wiped out.
.