Taliban takes control of Presidential palace in Kabul

Kabul, August 16

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have taken over the capital Kabul and claimed victory in the country. A spokesperson for the group has told a news network that their fighters have seized the presidential palace. They claimed that the government has collapsed and the President Ashraf Ghani fleeing. They declared the war is over. Kabul descended to chaos and residents and foreign nationals have been trying to escape.

At the capital’s international airport, an eyewitness told a TV channel that staff had abandoned their desks and people were running to planes.

Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to hold out against the Taliban offensive, which began months ago but has accelerated in the space of days as they rapidly gained control of territories.

The militants were able to seize control after most foreign troops pulled out. US President Joe Biden has defended the withdrawal of American troops, saying he could not justify an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict.

More than 60 countries, including the US and the UK, have issued a joint statement saying the Afghan people “deserve to live in safety, security and dignity”, and that security and civil order should be immediately restored.