Friday marks the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan following two decades of insurgency. France, like many countries, evacuated thousands of its citizens, alongside Afghans threatened by the re-emergence of the hardline Islamist regime. Based on eyewitness accounts, this period has been captured in a new French film, 13 jours, 13 nuits (13 days, 13 nights).
The images of chaos and panic when the Taliban swept back to power on 15 August, 2021 provoked shock and outrage around the world, as thousands rushed to Kabul airport, desperate to evacuate alongside citizens of Western nations.
Afghans raced across the tarmac, some clinging on to departing planes, others passing their young children over barbed wire fences, pleading to have them evacuated. Seven people were crushed to death in the stampede.
The Taliban had been forced from power when a United States-led coalition of forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Centre in 2001.
Bin Laden, a Saudi national, had been given shelter in Afghanistan.
But, after two decades of Western presence, with dwindling public support, former US president Joe Biden announced he would pull American troops out of the country by the end of August 2021.
Facing mounting attacks from militants, the US began evacuating its nationals, triggering similar moves among Western allies, including France.
The turn of events sent shockwaves throughout Afghanistan and threw into question the future of Western involvement there on logistical and diplomatic levels.
Vivid memories
The memory of the Taliban takeover and the sudden exit by Western countries is still vivid four years on, particularly for those involved in the dramatic evacuations at Kabul airport.
Their stories have been brought to the screen by French film director Martin Bourboulon in 13 jours, 13 nuits ("13 days, 13 nights"), which was screened as part of the official selection at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The film is based on the book 13 jours, 13 nuits dans l’enfer de Kabul ("13 days, 13 nights in the hell of Kabul"), in which Mohamed Bida tells of his experience as the head of security, responsible for evacuating the French embassy.
As the last Western embassy to remain open in the country in August 2021, France was unprepared for the last-minute rush of people who arrived at its headquarters in Kabul, seeking refuge.
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"The gate weighed 20 tonnes and we would only open it a little bit to let a few authorised individuals through, one at a time," Bida recalls.
When a nearby explosion caused panic, he saw people – mainly women and children – at risk of getting trampled as they pushed at the gate.
"I phoned the ambassador to warn him a tragedy was about to unfold on our doorstep and he ordered me to open the gate to prevent it. About 500 people came in, and we sheltered them in our gymnasium."
'Moral responsibility'
Bida's eyewitness account also tells of having to negotiate with the Taliban for the safe passage of a convoy of buses carrying civilians from the embassy to the airport.
He says he didn’t write the book to be seen as "the hero", but rather as an ordinary man faced with an extraordinary situation.
Director Martin Bourboulon agreed that the film needed to be "rooted in reality," without any exaggeration or invention around the events.
"The film’s main strength is that it’s a tale of collective heroism, diplomatic courage and moral responsibility," he told RFI, adding that the film crew consulted hundreds of testimonials to recreate the scenes.
The French military evacuation, Operation Apagan, lasted for two weeks and saw nearly 3,000 people flown through Middle Eastern airbases.
More than 200,000 people were evacuated by the US, in what Biden described as "the largest, most difficult airlifts in history".
Gender apartheid
Despite the Taliban’s assurances of a more tolerant and open brand of rule upon their return, many Afghans feared a repeat of their initial stint in power from 1996-2001, which was infamous for the treatment of girls and women, as well as a brutal justice system.
Over the past four years, women have become increasingly isolated – removed from public life by the Taliban authorities, who have banned them from universities, public parks and gyms, in what the United Nations has called a "gender apartheid".
Since September 2021, girls in Afghanistan have been barred from education beyond primary level. Women have also been pushed out of public sector jobs and are forbidden to work with foreign NGOs and the UN.
In July 2023, the Taliban ordered that all hair and beauty salons – a source of income for many women – be closed down.
Women must cover themselves from head to toe outside their homes and are barred from raising their voices in public, and from travelling without a male relative. They are forbidden to look directly at men they are not related to.
A window into the hidden lives of Afghan women cut off from society
Forced returns
The UN says the human rights situation in 2025 is worse than ever, and has been compounded by a growing problem – that of forced returns of exiled Afghans.
Millions of Afghans who fled the country throughout decades of successive wars are now facing hardened immigration measures from neighbouring countries.
Pakistan renewed a deportation drive in April, after first launching it in 2023. It has rescinded hundreds of thousands of residence permits for Afghans, threatening to arrest anyone who did not leave.
The government has labelled Afghans "terrorists and criminals", but analysts say the expulsions are designed to pressure Taliban authorities to control militancy in the border regions.
More than 2.1 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and Iran so far this year, according to the UN refugee agency, and many more are expected.
Their return is adding pressure in an economy already brought to its knees due to foreign aid cuts, and many have faced reprisals by the Taliban authorities.
In a report published in July, based on interviews with victims, the UN said that Taliban authorities were committing human rights violations against Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran, including torture and arbitrary detention.
France evacuates Afghan women over fears of becoming targets for Taliban
It said violations had been committed against Afghans "based on their specific profile", including women, media workers and members of civil society, as well as those affiliated with the former foreign-backed government that fell in 2021.
The Taliban government rejected the findings, accusing the UN of spreading "propaganda".
"The people cited in this report may have been inaccurate, may be opposed to the system, or may want to spread propaganda or rumours and are therefore using the UNAMA for this purpose," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told French news agency AFP.
