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An Afghan special forces convoy is seen during a mission to rescue a besieged policeman from a checkpoint surrounded by Taliban, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2021.
Danish Siddiqui | Reuters
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Taliban continued their relentless takeover of Afghan territory on Monday, after a dramatic weekend that saw the group seize five provincial capitals and prompt the State Department to urge all Americans to leave the war-torn country.
Three Afghan cities, including the key northern city of Kunduz, a major trading center, fell to the Taliban on Sunday.
The astonishing round of battlefield reversals began on Friday in the far west of Nimroz province, where US-trained Afghan forces defending the capital of Zaranj abandoned their positions.
The other provincial capitals under Taliban control are Sar-e Pul, Shibirghan and Taleqan, according to the Associated Press.
The US Embassy in Afghanistan on Saturday asked all US citizens to leave the country “immediately”, adding that they should “not plan to rely on US government flights.” The panic has come to a head after weeks of rapidly escalating Taliban offensives that have painted a violent picture of the nation’s future ahead of the full withdrawal of US troops which is expected to be completed by the end of August.
Without further intervention, the impoverished country of 39 million people could fall “in a situation of disaster so serious that it would have little or no equivalents in this century”, Deborah Lyons, special representative of the secretary General of the United Nations for Afghanistan. , said last week at a special session of the UN Security Council.
Afghans inspect stores damaged after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces in the northern Afghan town of Kunduz on Sunday, August 8, 2021.
Abdallah Sahil | PA
Lyons said the Afghan war had entered a “deadlier and more destructive phase” and questioned the Taliban’s commitment to a political settlement with the Afghan government.
A new United Nations report has revealed a slight increase in the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan from the first months of 2021. According to the report, more than 2,300 civilian casualties were recorded in May and June, a figure that almost exceeds combined total of the previous four months.
In April, President Joe Biden ordered the complete withdrawal of approximately 3,000 US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, ending America’s longest war. Last month, Biden gave an updated schedule and said the US military mission in Afghanistan would end on August 31.
“We didn’t go to Afghanistan to build a nation,” Biden said. “It’s up to Afghans to make the decisions about the future of their country.
Since Biden’s decision to leave the war-weary country, the Pentagon has airlifted more than 980 loads of equipment out of Afghanistan and handed over seven facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, according to the latest command update. central.
The Pentagon has said it will maintain air strikes in support of Afghan forces until all foreign forces leave the country. There are approximately 600 American soldiers in Afghanistan.
“The United States has stepped up its airstrikes in support of Afghan forces over the past few days, and we stand ready to continue this increased level of support in the weeks to come if the Taliban continue their attacks,” General Frank wrote. of the US Marine Corps. McKenzie in a July 26 statement.
McKenzie, the combatant commander who oversees US wars in the Middle East, told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last month that the US would continue to provide airstrikes, but made no promises on what would happen. after August 31.
– CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report from Washington.
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