Taliban takes Afghanistan

Summary:

1. At least five people are reported killed at Kabul airport as Afghans flee following the Taliban's takeover of the country
2. The US says all its embassy staff have been evacuated to the airport 
3. President Joe Biden will address not only the US but also the world on the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan 
4. International community has issued a joint statement calling on the Taliban to allow people to leave
5. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country, reportedly to Uzbekistan
6. The Taliban swept into Kabul unopposed and have seized the presidential palace

Here's the latest disturbing scenes from the Airport 

On Sunday, the Taliban swept into Kabul, the Afghanistan’s capital after the Afghan government collapsed. This signals the end of a costly two-decade U.S. experiment to remake Afghanistan.

Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the country in less than two weeks. And on Sunday, they entered Kabul and headed to the presidential palace. 

According to the Taliban spokesman, the Taliban would hold talks in the coming days aimed at forming an inclusive Islamic government.

The group announced from the palace the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the formal name of the country under Taliban rule before the they were ousted by U.S. led forces in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US soil, which were orchestrated by al-Qaida. 

As Taliban captured Afghanistan's Capital, Kabul was gripped by panic. Military helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. 

Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents, and the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out. 

There's fear that the Taliban could reintroduce the kind of brutal rule, which eliminates the minority and women's rights. 

Afghans rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings. Unfortunately, thousands of the desperate Afghanis were left stranded at the airport throughout the night. The US evacuated it's citizens to some unknown outpost.

The Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, and that they won't attack the Capital until a transition of power is done. Despite this assurance, the U.S. Embassy suspended operations and warned Americans late in the day to shelter in place and not try to get to the airport.

According to senior U.S. military officials, commercial flights were suspended after sporadic gunfire erupted at the Kabul airport.  Evacuations continued on military flights, but the halt to commercial traffic closed off the last route for exit. 

The international community has called on the Taliban to respect and facilitate the departure of foreigners and Afghans who wish to leave. 

The statement goes on to say that roads, airports and border crossings must remain open, and that calm must be maintained.

Many people watched in disbelief as helicopters landed in the U.S. Embassy compound to take diplomats to a new outpost at the airport. 

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State rejected this comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Saigon, Vietnam.

According to our sources, among those evacuated included the American ambassador. He was asking to return to the embassy, but it was not clear if he would be allowed to. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.

As the insurgents closed in, President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country in this difficult situation. He flew to Uzbekistan, he later released a statement saying his decision to flee the country was to avert bloodshed in Kabul. 

His longtime rival, Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council condemned Ghani's decision and that Allah should hold him accountable.

Taliban fighters were being deployed across Kabul, taking over the abandoned police posts and pledging to maintain law and order during the transfer of power. 

Residents reported looting in parts of the city, including in the upscale diplomatic district, and messages circulating on social media advised people to stay inside and lock their gates.

In a stunning move, the Taliban captured nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and NATO over nearly 20 years to build up Afghan security forces. 

The fall of Kabul marks the final chapter of America’s longest war, which began after the famous 9/11 terror attacks. The Americans thought they'd dislodged the Taliban but the truth of the matter is that the Taliban is so alive and strong; thanks to President Trump's deal in 2018 and 2020. 

In the peace-deal, the Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was released from Pakistan prison alongside thousands of inmates. The same Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the one who led the Taliban to take Afghanistan.

For years, the U.S. sought an exit from Afghanistan. Then-President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 that limited direct military action against the insurgents. That allowed the fighters to gather strength and move quickly to seize key areas when President Joe Biden announced his plans to withdraw all American forces by the end of this month.

It remained unclear when that transfer would take place and who among the Taliban was negotiating. The negotiators on the government side included former President Hamid Karzai, leader of Hizb-e-Islami political and paramilitary group Gulbudin Hekmatyar, and Abdullah, who has been a vocal critic of Ghani.

Karzai himself appeared in a video posted online, his three young daughters around him, saying he remained in Kabul. "We are trying to solve the issue of Afghanistan with the Taliban leadership peacefully,” he said.

Afghanistan’s acting defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, did not hold back his criticism of the fleeing president. 

“They tied our hands from behind and sold the country,” he wrote on Twitter. “Curse Ghani and his gang.”

The Taliban earlier insisted that their fighters would not enter people’s homes or interfere with businesses and said they would offer “amnesty” to those who worked with the Afghan government or foreign forces.

But there have been reports of revenge killings and other brutal tactics in areas of the country the Taliban have seized in recent days. Reports of gunfire at the airport raised the specter of more violence.

An Afghan university student described feeling betrayed as she watched the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.

“You failed the younger generation of Afghanistan,” said Aisha Khurram, 22, who is now unsure of whether she will be able to graduate in two months. She said her generation was “hoping to build the country with their own hands. They put blood, efforts and sweat into whatever we had right now.”

Sunday began with the Taliban seizing Jalalabad, the last major city besides the capital not in their hands. Afghan officials said the militants also took the capitals of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa and Parwan provinces, as well as the country’s last government-held border post.

Later, Afghan forces at Bagram Air Base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to Bagram district chief Darwaish Raufi. The prison at the former U.S. base held both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters. 

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