Taliban insurgents have entered Afghanistan's capital Kabul after taking control of every other major city in the country.
Militants are entering the capital from all sides, officials have confirmed, with the government on the brink of collapse.
A Taliban official says they will soon declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul.
The Taliban claims it is negotiating the "peaceful surrender" of its opponents and called on citizens not to flee.
The organisation's founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is preparing to arrive in the country, a spokesman in Doha claimed today.
READ MORE: 'Armed police' rush to scene as 'man threatens woman with handgun'
Afghanistan’s embattled President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country as the Taliban moved further into the capital city.
Ghani flew out of the country, two officials told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief journalists. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, later confirmed Ghani had left in an online video.
“He left Afghanistan in a hard time, God hold him accountable,” Abdullah said.
The Taliban, which for hours had been on the outskirts of Kabul, announced soon after they would move further into a city gripped by panic throughout the day as US helicopters raced overhead.
Later, the US Embassy in Kabul suspended all operations and told Americans to shelter in place, saying it has received reports of gunfire at the international airport.
Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.
In the UK, Boris Johnson has called a COBRA meeting to discuss the unfolding crisis.
Parliament will be recalled on Wednesday August 18 to discuss the worsening situation in Afghanistan, the House of Commons authorities have confirmed.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen claimed the militants would protect the rights of women, as well as freedoms for media workers and diplomats, the Mirror reports.
He told the BBC "We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe.
"Our leadership had instructed our forces to remain at the gates of Kabul, not to enter the city.
"We are awaiting a peaceful transfer of power."
He said the Taliban expected this to happen in a matter of days.
What do you make of the situation in Afghanistan? Have your say below
But there have been reports of revenge killings and other brutal tactics in areas of the country the Taliban have seized in recent days.
Thousands of refugees have streamed into Kabul in recent days amid fears of violence in provinces seized by the Taliban following the withdrawal of international troops.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement earlier today that the group was in talks with the government for a peaceful surrender of Kabul.
The organisation said: "Taliban fighters are to be on standby on all entrances of Kabul until a peaceful and satisfactory transfer of power is agreed."
Today Afghanistan's interior ministry said Britain is working to protect its citizens and help other eligible former UK staff to leave the country.
It said: "Home Office (interior ministry) officials are right now working to protect British nationals and help former UK staff and other eligible people travel to the UK."
In a statement the Taliban said it does not plan to take the capital "by force", but sporadic gunfire has been heard echoing through the capital.
Earlier today the Islamist group seized the eastern city of Jalalabad without a fight, narrowing the area controlled by the crumbling government.
It followed the Taliban's seizure of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif late yesterday, also with little fighting.
Local officials said allowing the Islamist group to advance was the only way to prevent the loss of civilian lives.
A Taliban leader in Doha said the organisation has ordered its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone that wants to leave.
A source in Jalalabad told Reuters news agency: "There are no clashes taking place right now in Jalalabad because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban.
"Allowing passage to the Taliban was the only way to save civilian lives."
Thousands have streamed into the capital fleeing the provinces amid fears of a return to hard-line Islamist rule.
It is estimated that Kabul can hold out for around three months following the withdrawal of foreign troops.
The US has started evacuating its diplomats and was sending more troops to help secure Kabul airport and the embassy after the Taliban's lightning advances.
US officials said the diplomats were being ferried to the airport from the embassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district.
More American troops were being sent to help in the evacuations after the Taliban's lightning advances brought the Islamist group to Kabul in a matter of days.
Just last week, a US intelligence estimate said Kabul could hold out for at least three months.
"We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak, a majority of the staff are ready to leave," a U.S. official said. "The embassy continues to function."
No progress has been made during peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, backed by the US.
It comes after US President Joe Biden announced in April that American troops would withdraw from the country in a process which began in May and will conclude in September.
In May, the Taliban launched a major offensive in the southern Helmand province, capturing the Nerkh district on May 11.
In June insurgents carried out a string of attacks in the north of the country, and on July 2 US troops quietly pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan, Bagram Air Base, an hour from Kabul.
Earlier this month Zaranj in the south of the country became the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in years.
Many more followed in the ensuing days, including the prized city of Kunduz in the north.
By Friday the Taliban had control of Kandahar and Herat, while the following day Mazar-i-Sharif fell along with Pul-e-Alam, capital of the Logar province just 40 miles south of Kabul.
After US-led forces withdrew the bulk of the their remaining troops in the last month, the Taliban campaign accelerated as the Afghan military's defences appeared to collapse.
President Biden yesterday authorised the deployment of 5,000 US troops to help evacuate citizens and ensure an "orderly and safe" drawdown of military personnel.
A US. defence official said that included 1,000 newly approved troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.
In a statement late yesterday, the Taliban claimed its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and said Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.
The Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban calls itself, "will, as always, protect their life, property and honour, and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation," it said.
President Biden said it is up to the Afghan military to hold its own territory.
"An endless American presence in the middle of another country's civil conflict was not acceptable to me," he said yesterday.
Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has granted a request by Government to recall MPs, the Commons authorities have said.
Earlier, a No 10 source said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to seek a recall to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan.
The parliamentary authorities said: “The Speaker of the House of Commons has granted a request from the Government to recall the House at 9.30am – 2.30pm on Wednesday August 18 in relation to the situation in Afghanistan.”
