the Taliban are 50 km from Kabul, take three other towns and people panic

Taliban captured on Friday three other capitals provinces of southern Afghanistan, including Helmand, the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the past two decades, as they advance with a lightning offensive that gradually surrounds the capital, Kabuthe.

His latest conquest is the city of Pul-i-Alam, capital of the province of Logar, located just 50 kilometers south of Kabul, as reported by a provincial councilor.

“The Taliban control all government facilities in Pul-i-Alam (…) They now have 100% control. There is no more fighting for the moment,” an official told AFP. local government, Saeed Qaribullah Sadat.

The fall of the capital of Helmand comes after years of work and bloodshed between the forces of the United States, Great Britain and NATO allies. Hundreds of foreign soldiers they perished there during nearly two decades of war.

Insurgents have seized more than a dozen regional capitals in recent days and now control more than two-thirds of the country within weeks of the United States. complete the total withdrawal of your troops.

Attaullah Afghan, the head of the Helmand Provincial Council, said the capital, Lashkar Gah, fell to the Taliban after heavy fighting and insurgents hoisted their flag over government facilities. The three kisses of the national army on the periphery remain under the command of Kabul, he added.

Afghan army flees

Atta Jan Haqbayan, head of the Zabul provincial council, said his capital, Qalat, is now controlled by the Taliban and that the authorities are in a nearby military camp Prepare to leave.

Two lawmakers from the southern Uruzgan region noted that local authorities they returned their capital, Tirin Kot, in the face of the rapid advance of the Taliban offensive. Bismillah Jan Mohammad and Qudratullah Rahimi confirmed what happened on Friday, and Mohammad explained that the governor was heading to the airport to leave for Kabul.

Kandahar

The latest breakthroughs came a few hours later the capture of the second and third largest cities in Afghanistan. The capture of Kandahar and Herat is, to date, the greatest achievement of the rapid insurgent campaign.

Although Kabul is not directly threatened, repeated losses and battles everywhere further strengthen the power of the resurgent Taliban.

The United States evacuates its embassy

As security deteriorates rapidly, the United States plans to send 3,000 soldiers to help evacuate staff from their embassy in Kabul.

For its part, Britain has announced that around 600 troops will be deployed for a short period to support the British citizens leaving the country, and Canada will send special forces to help evacuate its embassy.

The population, in panic

Thousands of afghans they fled their homes lest the Taliban re-impose a brutal and repressive government that will almost completely eliminate women’s rights and carry out public executions. Qatar peace talks remain at a standstill although diplomats continue to meet.

The offensive caused at least 250,000 displaced since its creation in May, and 80% of them are women and children, warned the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

This exodus adds to the 150,000 who already had to leave their homes between January and May, and increases the total number of internally displaced people in the Central Asian country. to 3.3 million, according to figures provided at a press conference by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.

“We demand an immediate end to the attacks on cities, we ask for a political agreement and we warn that a government imposed by force will be a pariah stage, ”said Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s representative in the dialogue.

Fazel Haq Ehsan, head of the provincial council of West Ghor province, said on Friday that the Taliban had entered his capital, Feroz Koh, and fighting was active in the city. The insurgent group claimed to have captured Qala-e Naw, the capital of the Badghis region, also in the west of the country, but there has been no official confirmation.

80 km from Kabul

The insurgents are also advancing in the province of Logar, just south of Kabul, where they claim to have taken control of the police station in the capital, Puli-e Alim, as well as a nearby prison. The city is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kabul.

Latest US military intelligence assessment indicates Kabul could be under siege by insurgents within 30 days and that, if current trends continue, the Taliban could take full control of the country in some months.

The Afghan government could be forced retreat to defend the capital and a few more cities in the coming days if the Taliban continue.

The assault represents an impressive collapse of Afghan forces after the United States invested nearly two decades and $ 830 billion in trying to establish a functioning state after toppling the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks.

The fighters travel aboard American-made Humvees with M-16 rifles stolen from Afghan forces slung over their shoulder.

The security forces and the Afghan government did not respond to repeated questions from the press, but instead released video communications where the advance of the insurgents is minimized.

Although diplomats met in Doha, Qatar on Thursday, the success of the insurgent offensive raises questions whether the Taliban will ever return to the stalled dialogue with the government in Kabul. Instead, they could take power by force, or the country could plunge into a factional struggle as happened after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

Associated press and EFE

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