Taliban capture key city in northern Afghanistan, close to Kabul

Kabul: Taliban forces captured a major city in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, driving Afghan forces to flee, and moved closer to Kabul, where Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the capital.

The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was confirmed by a provincial council official, was another big catch for hardline militants who have swept the country in recent weeks after US-led forces withdrew.

The United States and Britain are now sending several thousand troops back into the country to evacuate civilians, amid concerns that Kabul may soon be over.

The head of the Balkh provincial council, Afzal Hadid, told Reuters that security forces were running towards the border from Mazar-i-Sharif.

“The Taliban have captured Mazar-i-Sharif,” he said. “All the security forces have left the city of Mazar.” The city appeared to have largely collapsed without a fight, although sporadic skirmishes continued around the area, he said.

Earlier in the day, the rebels captured a city south of Kabul which is one of the gateways to the capital.

Many Afghans have fled the provinces to the capital, due to fighting and fear of the return of radical Islamic rule, as resistance to the Afghan government’s military has crept in.

One resident said hundreds of people were trapped in tents or in the open in the city, on the side of the road or in the carpark as night fell on Saturday. “You can see the fear on their faces,” he said.

President Ashraf Ghani held immediate talks with local leaders and international allies but showed no sign of responding to the Taliban’s demand that he resign as a condition of any ceasefire.

His focus was “on preventing further instability, violence and displacement of my people”, he said in a brief televised address, adding that security and defense forces were being consolidated.

Qatar, which has been hosting a hitherto inconclusive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said it had urged the insurgents for a ceasefire during a meeting with its representatives on Saturday.

The Taliban, meeting little resistance at first, took Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province and 70 km (40 mi) south of Kabul, according to a local provincial council member, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. had spoken.

Police officials, however, denied reports that the Taliban had moved closer to Kabul from Pul-e-Alam, which is a stage for a possible attack on the capital.

The capture of the city came a day after rebels captured the country’s second and third largest cities. The Taliban say it is close to capturing Maidan City, another city near Kabul.

An Afghan government official confirmed Friday that Kandahar, the south’s largest city and stronghold of the Taliban, was under militant control as US-led forces completed their withdrawal after 20 years of war.

The US-led offensive that ousted the Taliban from power was launched in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Herat in the west, near the border with Iran, also fell into the group. The Taliban said on Saturday it had captured the capitals of Kunar, Paktika and Paktiya provinces on Afghanistan’s eastern border, although this could not be immediately confirmed.

embassy clearance

A US official said on condition of anonymity that US troops began flying into Kabul to help evacuate embassy personnel and other civilians.

The Pentagon has said that two battalions of marines and one battalion of infantry will reach Kabul by Sunday evening, which will include some 3,000 soldiers. An infantry brigade’s combat contingent would travel to Kuwait to act as a rapid response force for security in Kabul, if needed.

The Czech Republic said it was evacuating two of its diplomats on Saturday and Germany said it would deploy troops to evacuate its diplomats as soon as possible.

Diplomats said some embassies have started burning sensitive material before evacuating people. Residents said many people in the capital were stocking up on rice, other food and first aid.

Officials said visa applications at embassies were running into the thousands, and Washington was asking countries to temporarily house Afghans working for the US government.

thousands injured

The aid agency said hospitals were struggling to cope with the number of people wounded in the fighting, with 17,000 in July and the first week of August being treated in facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The erupting in fighting has raised fears of a refugee crisis and a return of human rights gains, especially for women. Canada said it would rehabilitate more than 20,000 vulnerable Afghans, including women leaders, human rights activists and journalists, to protect them from Taliban retaliation.

As well as Kabul, the government still maintains the city of Jalalabad near the Pakistani border in the east.

The pace of Taliban gains has re-charged the US withdrawal, which was negotiated last year under the administration of President Joe Biden’s Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Biden said this week he does not regret his decision to follow through with the return. He said Washington has spent more than $1 trillion over two decades and lost thousands of soldiers, and called on Afghanistan’s military and leaders to step up.