The Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday, ordering troops to remain outside the Afghan capital ahead of talks on a peaceful transition of power, and President Ashraf Ghani reportedly left the country.
The Afghan news service Tolo tweeted that Ghani has departed, citing two people with knowledge, but didn’t say where he was headed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Sunday that the U.S. embassy in Kabul is being evacuated as the Taliban fortifies its renewed grip on Afghanistan two decades after the U.S. ousted it from power.
Television images showed a stream of helicopter flights, apparently ferrying passengers from the U.S. Embassy.
“We’re relocating the men and women of our embassy to a location at the airport,” Blinken said on ABC’s “This Week.” “That’s why the president sent in a number of forces to make sure that, as we continue to draw down our diplomatic presence, we do it in a safe and orderly fashion and at the same time maintain a core diplomatic presence in Kabul.”
The U.S. will completely pull out all embassy personnel within three days, CNN reported earlier, citing people familiar with the situation, leaving a small core of staff to operate at the airport.
Taliban fighters reached the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday. It was the culmination of a three-week offensive in which the Islamic group seized the bulk of territory in the country, often with little or no resistance. Taliban forces now hold all of Afghanistan’s border crossings, The Associated Press said.
“The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city,” the Taliban said in a statement on Sunday, using the group’s formal name. “Negotiations are under way to ensure that the transition process is completed safely and securely, without putting the lives, property and honor of anyone in danger.”
It was unclear exactly how the talks would take place, or where. The AP reported that Taliban negotiators were heading to the presidential palace in Kabul to prepare for a transfer of power. Yet Bismillah Mohammadi, Afghanistan’s acting defense minister, said Ghani had extended authority to a delegation headed to Doha for talks with the Taliban on Monday.
The militant group has sought to reassure the country and the world that it will act responsibly as it prepares to resume power, following the swift collapse of a U.S.-trained Afghan army after President Joe Biden ordered American troops to withdraw by Aug. 31.
On Sunday, Ghani’s office said on social media that national forces have Kabul “under control and there’s no need for the people to worry.” But some key Afghan officials suggested it was just a matter of time before the Taliban took power.
“Until the transfer of the power, the security of Kabul is our responsibility,” Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, said in a video message posted on the ministry’s Facebook page.
Biden on Saturday boosted the U.S. troop deployment in an attempt to ensure an “orderly and safe drawdown.” The authorization adds about 1,000 U.S. personnel to the deployment of 3,000 Marines and soldiers announced this week and 1,000 troops already at the airport and the embassy, according to a defense official.
Biden again defended his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after 20 years — America’s longest war.
“I was the fourth president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans, two Democrats,” Biden said. “I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.”
Thousands of Afghanis fled to Kabul in the face of the Taliban advance as the crisis threatened to spill outside the country’s borders and send waves of refugees as far afield as Europe. That has powers including U.S. adversaries China and Russia — both of which engaged the Taliban in talks and have argued for a “political solution” involving the group — watching closely.
People also flocked to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport airport hoping to catch a flight out. “We’re expecting to be evacuated — I hope we’ll be out in a few days,” Emir Sayit, a Turkish civil engineer, said by phone on Sunday.
The rapid, domino-like fall of Afghanistan’s cities to the Taliban shocked many U.S. officials and ramped up bipartisan criticism of Biden’s exit plan. The U.S. has been surprised — and frustrated — by the Afghan army’s inability or unwillingness to fight back.
Russia seized on the situation to criticize the U.S. “The world is watching in horror the results of Washington’s latest historical experiment,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post Sunday. Russia said it’s not planning to evacuate its embassy in Kabul, with Tass quoting a Taliban spokesman saying the group has good relations with Moscow.
Biden has faced mounting criticism from human rights groups and some members of his own party, as reports emerge the Taliban is already bringing a return to attacks on women and other abuses reminiscent of its earlier rule. Social media posts on Sunday portrayed images of woman on Kabul buildings being painted over.
The Biden administration has argued the Afghan army must take the reins at last, while the U.S. provides military and financial support.
“One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country,” Biden said.
During Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, women were prohibited from working, attending high school or appearing in public without a burqa, a garment that covers the wearer’s entire body, head, and face. In recent weeks, Taliban fighters in northern areas told some female employees of branches of Afghanistan International Bank to leave work and go home.
Late Saturday, the Taliban released a lengthy statement denying reports that it had killed prisoners and forced villagers to hand over their daughters to marry Taliban soldiers. In the statement, the group said it would respect public property, redeploy bureaucrats and military officers, and provide amnesty for anyone who “helped the invaders.”
The Taliban also said it would avoid seizing private property and create “a safe and conducive environment” for business. It also said neighboring countries should have confidence: “We assure all our neighbors that we will not create any problems for them.”
In other developments:
— Afghan troops surrendered Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, which the U.S. handed over to Afghanistan last month after nearly 20 years. the Associated Press reported.
— Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to recall U.K. Parliament on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Johnson had an emergency meeting Friday with top-level government officials.
— Turkey’s president warned of a flood of migration likely from those fleeing Afghanistan.
— Neighboring Iran said Sunday it will give temporary refuge to Afghans.
— Sweden joined the U.K., Germany, Canada, Italy, Australia and other countries in announcing plans to pull diplomats, and in some cases local support staff, out of Afghanistan.
