Taliban (file photo)

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
August 15, 2021

The Taliban has moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with the capital, Kabul, the only major area still under the government’s control.

The Presidential Palace said on August 15 on social media that firing had been heard at a number of points around Kabul but that security forces, in coordination with international partners, had control of the city.

“Don’t panic! Kabul is safe!” tweeted Matin Bek, President Ashraf Ghani’s chief of staff.

The statement came as the Taliban said it had no plans to take the Afghan capital “by force” after unnamed Afghan officials told AP that the militants were in the capital’s Kalakan, Qarabagh, and Paghman districts.

The Taliban said it did not “intend to enter the city by force and fighting but are negotiating with the other side to enter Kabul peacefully.” The group said it had instructed its fighters to stay at the gates of the Afghan capital.

Earlier on August 15, the insurgents took control of the key eastern city of Jalalabad less than 24 hours after seizing the major northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, leaving the Afghan capital as the last major urban area under government control.

The Taliban took control of Jalalabad early on August 15 without a fight, cutting off Kabul to the east. The militants posted photos online showing themselves in the governor’s office in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province.

Abrarullah Murad, a lawmaker from Nangarhar Province, told AP that the insurgents seized Jalalabad after elders negotiated the fall of the government there.

The loss of Jalalabad and Mazar-e Sharif are back-to-back blows for President Ashraf Ghani, who addressed the nation in a televised speech on August 14, vowing not to give up the “achievements” of the 20 years since the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The militants took also Maidan Shar, the capital of Maidan Wardak, on August 15, only some 90 kilometers from Kabul, a provincial council member told Radio Azadi.

The Taliban has made rapid gains over the last week, sweeping through the country as U.S.-led forces withdraw and pressuring Afghanistan’s government.

The offensive accelerated in the last week, shocking Western governments as the Afghan military’s defenses appeared to collapse. The United States and Britain are deploying additional troops to help evacuate their citizens and Afghans who worked for them.

The Taliban said in a statement that its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and reassured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.

The Taliban “will, as always, protect their life, property, and honor and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation,” it said, adding that diplomats and aid workers would also face no problems.

The chain of events prompted U.S. President Joe Biden on August 14 to authorize the deployment of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.

They are in addition to about 3,000 troops approved on August 12 to ensure an “orderly and safe” drawdown of U.S. military personnel. They will join more than 650 personnel already in Kabul that have remained in the country to maintain diplomatic security.

The United States started the withdrawal of its diplomats on August 15, hours after U.S. troops began arriving in Kabul on August 14 to protect the evacuation operation and keep control of the airport.

Biden announced the additional troops in a statement that also defended the rapid U.S. pullout and argued against prolonging the U.S. mission.

“Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in US history,” he said.

“One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me,” he said.

In his speech to the nation, Ghani said consultations have started inside the government with elders and political leaders, representatives of different levels of the community, and international allies.

“Soon the results will be shared with you,” he added, without elaborating further.

Earlier on August 14, Taliban fighters overran Sharana, capital of southeastern Paktika Province, and later captured Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar Province as well.

The new seizures bring the number of provinces now controlled by the Taliban to 25, out of a total of 34.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes, many fearing a return to the Taliban’s oppressive rule. The group governed Afghanistan from 1996-2001, imposing a harsh version of Islamic law in which women were forbidden to work or attend school and could not leave their homes without a male relative accompanying them.

Salima Mazari, one of the few female district governors in the country, expressed fears about a Taliban takeover in an interview with AP from Mazar-e Sharif before it fell.

“There will be no place for women,” said Mazari, who governs a district near the northern city. “In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, no women exist there anymore, not even in the cities. They are all imprisoned in their homes.”

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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