15″ Aug” 2021″ ALJAZEERA
President Ashraf Ghani leaves Afghanistan:
Ghani left Kabul for Tajikistan, a senior interior ministry officials tells Reuters news agency.
The former Afghan president has left the nation,” Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said in a video on his Facebook
Ghani’s departure comes amid negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power after Taliban fighters encircled Kabul after capturing 26 of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in less than two weeks.
Taliban capture district in Kabul
After taking the provinces of Nangarhar and Laghman overnight, the Taliban have captured the Sarobi district, an hour east of the capital. It marks the first district in the province of Kabul to be taken by the armed group.
Meanwhile, a Taliban official told Reuters they were checking reports about Ghani’s departure from the country.
On Sunday, Taliban troops surrounded Afghanistan’s seat of power, promising it had instructed its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone wishing to leave Kabul.
Taliban fighters to enter Kabul ‘to prevent looting’: Spokesman
The Taliban said they will enter the capital Kabul to prevent looting after local police deserted their posts, a spokesman for the armed group said late on Sunday.
The statement by Zabihullah Mujahid came shortly after a top Afghan peace envoy said President Ashraf Ghani had left the country.
Russia does not yet “recognise” Taliban as Afghanistan’s lawful authority
Moscow does not yet recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new lawful authority, RIA state news agency quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Sunday.
The ministry also told RIA that Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani was unlikely to head to Russia after leaving his country.
In Pictures: Taliban mass ‘at the gates’ of Kabul
Taliban fighters surrounded Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday as the world waited to see what negotiations around a transfer of power would result in.
Taliban takes provincial Afghan capital just west of Kabul
An Afghan lawmaker and the Taliban say fighters have seized a provincial capital just west of Kabul.
The Taliban took Maidan Shahr, capital of Maidan Wardak province, on Sunday. It is about 90km (55 miles) from the national capital Kabul
The armed group seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, sending thousands of internally displaced people fleeing the fighting to Kabul, seeking safety.
In spite of hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO to build up Afghan security forces, the Taliban swiftly defeated, co-opted, or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country
Afghan civilians flee rural areas
Early on Sunday, refugees from Taliban-controlled provinces have been seen unloading belongings from taxis as families stood outside embassy gates and the city’s downtown filled up with people stocking up on supplies.
Hundreds of people slept huddled in tents or in the open in the city, by roadsides or in car parks, a resident said.
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Turkey urges efforts to stem Afghan migrant wave
Turkey’s president said his country will work for stability in Afghanistan along with Pakistan, in order to stem a growing migration wave amid the Taliban’s countrywide offensive.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Afghans were increasingly attempting to migrate to Turkey via Iran, urging an international effort to bring stability to the country and prevent mass migration.
Erdogan was speaking at a naval ceremony with Pakistan’s president. He said Pakistan had a “vital task” to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where clashes have intensified. Turkish-Pakistani cooperation would be needed for this, and Turkey would use all possibilities to do so, Erdogan added
Iran sets up camps along Afghanistan border as Taliban advance
Iran said it has prepared accommodation in three provinces bordering Afghanistan to provide temporary refuge to Afghans fleeing the conflict in their country.
“Camps have been built in border areas in three provinces,” Interior Ministry official Hossein Qasemi told Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
But he added that: “We expect those Afghan refugees to return home when the situation improves in Afghanistan.”
US begins evacuating embassy in Kabul
The US has started evacuating diplomats from its embassy in Kabul, two US officials told Reuters news agency, with helicopters landing on the premises as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound.
“We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak, a majority of the staff are ready to leave … the embassy continues to function,” one of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
The rapid helicopter shuttle runs came as wisps of smoke rose from the embassy’s roof. US officials previously said diplomats inside had begun destroying sensitive documents.
World reacts as Taliban closes in on Afghan capital
World reaction was swift after the Taliban closed in on Kabul as a takeover by the armed group appeared imminent on Sunday.
Click here to read about how regional and world powers reacted to the news.
NATO maintains diplomatic presence in Kabul
NATO is maintaining its diplomatic presence in Kabul and helping to keep the city’s airport running, a NATO official told Reuters.
“NATO is constantly assessing developments in Afghanistan,” the official said.
“The security of our personnel is paramount, and we continue to adjust as necessary. We support Afghan efforts to find a political solution to the conflict, which is now more urgent than ever.”
UK parliament to be recalled next week to discuss Afghanistan
The British parliament will be recalled from its summer recess next week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Sky News reported.
Senior government official urges calm
President Ghani’s chief of staff has taken to Twitter to urge the people of Kabul: “Please don’t worry. There is no problem. The situation of Kabul is under control.”
Taliban leadership says Afghan capital will not be taken by force
The Taliban have released a statement online saying they have instructed their forces not to cross the gates of Kabul and take the city by force.
Instead, they say, “negotiations are under way to ensure that the transition process is completed safely and securely, without compromising the lives, property and honour of anyone, and without compromising the lives of Kabulis.”
They also released another statement trying to reassure banks, merchants and other entrepreneurs that their property, money and institutions will not be disturbed by the armed group.
Despite the online assurances, people continue to leave the city streets and try to find ways to head home.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
