Taliban enters Afghan presidential palace after Ghani flees
Taliban should not be recognised as Afghan gov’t – Britain
AFGHANISTAN
President Ashraf Ghani has left Afghanistan as Taliban closes in on Kabul, according to the country’s top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah.
“The former Afghan president has left the nation,” Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said in a video on his Facebook page.
A senior interior ministry official told Reuters news agency that Ghani left for Tajikistan.
Ghani’s departure comes amid negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power after Taliban fighters encircled Kabul after capturing 26 of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in less than two weeks.
Meanwhile, a Taliban official told Reuters they were checking
Nobody should bilaterally recognise the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, adding it was clear that there would be a new administration in the country very shortly.
“We don’t want anybody bilaterally recognising the Taliban,” Johnson said in an interview clip, urging the West to work together on Afghanistan through mechanisms such as the United Nations and NATO. reports about Ghani’s departure from the country.
On Sunday, Taliban troops surrounded Afghanistan’s seat of power, promising it had instructed its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone wishing to leave Kabul.
US authorises additional 1,000 troops for Kabul evacuation: Official
The Pentagon authorised an additional 1,000 troops to help with the evacuation from Kabul, a US official said on, bringing the total number of troops expected in Afghanistan temporarily to 6,000.
The official, speaking to Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity, said the additional 1,000 troops would come from the
“We want a united position amongst all the like-minded as far as we can get one so that we do whatever we can to prevent Afghanistan lapsing back into being a breeding ground for terror.”
Taliban insurgents entered Kabul on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani left the country and the U.S. Embassy said the capital’s airport, where diplomats, officials and other Afghans had fled, had come under fire.
“The (UK)
ambassador
is 82nd Airborne Division, which had already been on standby.
Saudi diplomatic mission in Kabul evacuated: State media
Saudi Arabia has evacuated all members of its diplomatic mission in Kabul, state news agency SPA said.
Taliban fighters have entered Afghanistan’s presidential palace hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
The group’s leadership, surrounded by dozens of armed fighters, addressed the media from the country’s seat of power.
Al Jazeera gains exclusive access to footage of Taliban fighters entering the Afghan presidential palace after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. working round the clock, has been there at the airport to help process the applications,” said Johnson.
Asked whether he would have expected the country to fall to the Taliban so quickly, he replied:
“I think it’s fair to say that the U.S. decision to pull out has accelerated things.”
Separately, Russia said earlier on Sunday that it does not yet recognise the Taliban insurgents as Afghanistan’s new lawful authority, RIA state news agency reported.