Kabul:
The Taliban raced closer to a full military takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday right after capturing more significant cities, leaving only the isolated capital Kabul for them to conquer.
The insurgents took manage of the important eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, just hours right after the seizing the northern anti-Taliban bastion of Mazar-i-Sharif — furthering an astonishing rout of government forces and warlord militias accomplished in just 10 days.
“We woke up this morning to the Taliban white flags all over the city. They entered without fighting,” mentioned Jalalabad resident Ahmad Wali, confirming a claim on social media made by the Taliban.
President Ashraf Ghani’s government appeared to be left with couple of possibilities as the Taliban correctly surrounded Kabul — either prepare for a bloody fight for the capital or capitulate.
On Saturday Ghani sought to project a semblance of authority with a national address in which he spoke of “re-mobilising” the military when in search of a “political solution” to the crisis.
But the loss of Mazar-i-Sharif and Jalalabad are enormous back-to-back blows for Ghani and his government.
It left the Taliban — who have fighters much less than an hour’s drive from Kabul — holding all the cards in any negotiated surrender of the capital.
President Joe Biden ordered the deployment of an extra 1,000 US troops to assist safe the emergency evacuation from Kabul of embassy personnel and thousands of Afghans who worked for American forces and now worry Taliban reprisals.
That was on best of the 3,000 American soldiers deployed in current days, and 1,000 left in-nation right after Biden announced in May that the final withdrawal of the 20-year military presence in Afghanistan would be completed by September 11.
That choice has come beneath elevated scrutiny provided the collapse of the Afghan armed forces, but he insisted Saturday there was no selection.
“I was the fourth president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth,” Biden mentioned.
Heavy fighting
In Mazar-i-Sharif, Taliban fighters rapidly took charge.
“They are parading on their vehicles and motorbikes, firing into the air in celebration,” mentioned Atiqullah Ghayor, who lives close to the city’s famed blue mosque.
Warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor, who had led a militia resistance in the city to assistance government forces, had fled to Uzbekistan, about 30 kilometres to the north, an aide to Noor mentioned.
Noor later tweeted that they had been betrayed by the military and had been in a “safe place”, adding: “I have a lot of untold stories that I will share in due course.”
As the Taliban closed in on the capital, panicked residents formed lengthy lines outdoors banks, hoping to withdraw their savings. Some branches appeared to have currently run of money.
Residents close to Pul-e-Charkhi prison outdoors Kabul told AFP they heard gunfire coming from the facility — possibly the outcome of an inmate uprising.
In his initially address to the nation considering the fact that the Taliban launched their sweeping offensive, which was recorded, Ghani mentioned he wanted to quit the violence.
“I will not let the imposed war on people cause more deaths,” he mentioned, appearing sombre and sitting just before an Afghan flag.
Ghani mentioned the armed forces could be “remobilized” and consultations had been taking spot to attempt to assist finish the fighting, but supplied couple of specifics on what his administration was preparing.
The presidential palace later mentioned: “A delegation with authority should soon be appointed by the government and be ready for negotiation.”
Further specifics had been not instantly readily available.
‘Crying evening and day’
For Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought refuge there in current weeks, the overwhelming mood was one of apprehension and worry.
Muzhda, 35, a single lady who arrived in the capital with her two sisters right after fleeing nearby Parwan, mentioned she was terrified.
“I am crying day and night,” she told AFP. “If the Taliban come and force me to marry, I will commit suicide.”
The Taliban imposed an ultra-austere brand of Islam on Afghanistan throughout their 1996-2001 rule.
The scale and speed of their advance have shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the nation right after toppling the insurgents in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Individual Afghan soldiers, units and even entire divisions have surrendered — handing the Taliban even more autos and military hardware for their lightning advance.
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