RTSun, 15 Aug 2021 18:57 UTC
© REUTERS/StringerTaliban fighters keep watch in Ghazni province, Afghanistan August 14, 2021.
Taliban commanders have apparently taken control of the presidential palace in Kabul shortly after President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan.
The group says it expects a total handover of power.Taliban militants entered the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday, after a whirlwind advance that saw them take most of the country's provinces and cities -
some without firing a shot - on the heels of the US military withdrawal.
Amid negotiations to surrender, US-backed President Ashraf Ghani departed shortly afterwards, reportedly bound for Tajikistan.
By Sunday evening, Taliban commanders told Reuters they had entered Ghani's presidential palace and taken control of the building. Their claim has not been confirmed by Ghani's government.
Though Taliban leaders and representatives of Ghani's government had been participating in peace talks in Qatar for several months, a power-sharing deal had evidently not been reached before Ghani took off.
Two officials from the Islamist group told Reuters there would be no transitional government, and it expects a complete handover of power.
Outside the palace, the Taliban moved quickly to assert control over the Afghan capital. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group, claimed on Sunday night that his men had "conquered" 11 districts of the city and were providing "security." Amid reports that the group would soon declare an "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," US and other foreign diplomats and staff thronged Kabul airport in a bid to flee the country.
Comment: Ghani says he
resigned in order to prevent a Taliban slaughter in Kabul, where multiple explosions were reported today at key locations, including the presidential palace and US embassy.
Before Ghani
fled, Taliban representatives had
reportedly headed to the palace to negotiate a peaceful surrender. The Ghani government had hoped for a "transitional administration," and the Taliban had expected a "peaceful transfer of power" over the next few days. Events seem to have intervened. Fighters, who had the city encircled, were instructed to refrain from violence and allow safe passage for those leaving the city. Only sporadic gunshots have been reported from the capital. Before taking Kabul, Jalalabad
surrendered.
In Sheberghan, capital of Jowzjan province, Taliban fighters showed off the ostentatious palace of US ally and warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum:
A Taliban spokesman
promises that Afghan women will not be deprived of work or education, provided they remain veiled in public. Watch out, Taliban, Nancy Pelosi is watching:
Comment: Ghani says he resigned in order to prevent a Taliban slaughter in Kabul, where multiple explosions were reported today at key locations, including the presidential palace and US embassy.
Before Ghani fled, Taliban representatives had reportedly headed to the palace to negotiate a peaceful surrender. The Ghani government had hoped for a "transitional administration," and the Taliban had expected a "peaceful transfer of power" over the next few days. Events seem to have intervened. Fighters, who had the city encircled, were instructed to refrain from violence and allow safe passage for those leaving the city. Only sporadic gunshots have been reported from the capital. Before taking Kabul, Jalalabad surrendered.
In Sheberghan, capital of Jowzjan province, Taliban fighters showed off the ostentatious palace of US ally and warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum:
A Taliban spokesman promises that Afghan women will not be deprived of work or education, provided they remain veiled in public. Watch out, Taliban, Nancy Pelosi is watching: