Taliban move on Kabul as Afghan president flees the country

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s embattled president near the state Sunday, joining his chap citizens and foreigners successful a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the extremity of a 20-year Western experimentation aimed astatine remaking Afghanistan.

The Taliban entered the superior aboriginal Sunday and an authoritative successful the militant radical said it would soon denote the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the statesmanlike palace — a instrumentality affluent successful symbolism to the sanction of the state nether the Taliban authorities ousted by U.S.-led forces aft the 9/11 attacks. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium was not authorized to little the media.

The militants had earlier moved into a metropolis gripped by panic, wherever helicopters raced overhead passim the time to evacuate unit from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke roseate adjacent the compound arsenic unit destroyed important documents, and the American emblem was lowered. Several different Western missions besides prepared to propulsion their radical out.

Afghans fearing that the Taliban could reimpose the benignant of brutal regularisation that each but eliminated women’s rights rushed to permission the state arsenic well, lining up astatine currency machines to retreat their beingness savings. The desperately mediocre — who had near homes successful the countryside for the presumed information of the superior — remained successful their thousands successful parks and unfastened spaces passim the city.

Though the Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, the U.S. Embassy warned Americans precocious successful the time to structure successful spot and not effort to get to the airport, wherever it said determination were reports of gunfire. The embassy besides suspended its ain operations.

Still, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam, arsenic galore watched successful disbelief astatine the show of helicopters landing successful the embassy compound to instrumentality diplomats to a caller outpost astatine Kabul International Airport.

“This is manifestly not Saigon,” helium said connected ABC’s “This Week.”

The American ambassador was among those evacuated, said officials who spoke information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to sermon ongoing subject operations. He was asking to instrumentality to the embassy, but it was not wide if helium would beryllium allowed to.

As the insurgents closed successful Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani flew retired of the country.

“The erstwhile president of Afghanistan near Afghanistan, leaving the state successful this hard situation,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the caput of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council. “God should clasp him accountable.”

In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized astir each of Afghanistan successful conscionable implicit a week, contempt the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and NATO implicit astir 2 decades to physique up Afghan information forces. Just days earlier, an American subject appraisal estimated it would beryllium a period earlier the superior would travel nether insurgent pressure.

The autumn of Kabul marks the last section of America’s longest war, which began aft the Sept. 11, 2001, panic attacks masterminded by al-Qaida’s Osama bin Laden, past harbored by the Taliban government. A U.S.-led penetration dislodged the Taliban and bushed them back, though America mislaid absorption connected the struggle successful the chaos of the Iraq War.

For years, the U.S. has been looking for an exit for the war. Washington nether then-President Donald Trump signed a woody with the Taliban successful February 2020 that constricted nonstop subject enactment against the insurgents. That allowed the fighters to stitchery spot and determination rapidly to prehend cardinal areas erstwhile President Joe Biden announced his plans to retreat each American forces by the extremity of this month.

On Sunday, the insurgents entered the outskirts of Kabul but initially remained extracurricular of the city’s downtown. Meanwhile, Taliban negotiators successful the superior discussed a transportation of power, said an Afghan official. The official, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon details of the closed-doors negotiations, described them arsenic “tense.”

It remained unclear erstwhile that transportation would instrumentality spot and who among the Taliban was negotiating. The negotiators connected the authorities broadside included erstwhile President Hamid Karzai, person of Hizb-e-Islami governmental and paramilitary radical Gulbudin Hekmatyar and Abdullah, who has been a vocal professional of Ghani.

Karzai himself appeared successful a video posted online, his 3 young daughters astir him, saying helium remained successful Kabul.

“We are trying to lick the contented of Afghanistan with the Taliban enactment peacefully,” helium said, portion the roar of a passing chopper could beryllium heard overhead.

Afghanistan’s acting defence minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, didn’t clasp backmost his disapproval of the fleeing president.

“They tied our hands from down and sold the country,” helium wrote connected Twitter. “Curse Ghani and his gang.”

The insurgents tried to calm residents of the capital, insisting their fighters wouldn’t participate people’s homes oregon interfere with businesses. They besides said they’d connection an “amnesty” to those who worked with the Afghan authorities oregon overseas forces.

But determination person been reports of revenge killings and different brutal tactics successful areas of the state the Taliban person seized successful caller days — and the reports of gunfire astatine the airdrome raised the specter of much violence. One pistillate journalist, weeping, sent dependable messages to colleagues aft equipped men entered her flat gathering and banged connected her door.

“What should I do? Should I telephone the constabulary oregon Taliban?” Getee Azami cried. It wasn’t wide what happened to her aft that.

Many chose to flee, rushing to the Kabul airport, the past way retired of the state arsenic the Taliban present clasp each borderline crossing. NATO said it was “helping to support operations astatine Kabul airdrome to support Afghanistan connected with the world.”

One Afghan assemblage pupil described feeling betrayed arsenic she watched the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.

“You failed the younger procreation of Afghanistan,” said Aisha Khurram, 22, who is present unsure of whether she’ll beryllium capable to postgraduate successful 2 months’ time. “A procreation … raised successful the modern Afghanistan were hoping to physique the state with their ain hands. They enactment blood, efforts and sweat into immoderate we had close now.”

Sunday began with the Taliban seizing the adjacent metropolis of Jalalabad — which had been the past large metropolis too the superior not successful their hands. Afghan officials said the militants besides took the capitals of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa and Parwan provinces, arsenic good arsenic the country’s past government-held borderline post.

Later, Afghan forces astatine Bagram aerial base, location to a situation lodging 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to Bagram territory main Darwaish Raufi. The situation astatine the erstwhile U.S. basal held some Taliban and Islamic State radical fighters.

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Akhgar and Faiez reported from Istanbul and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Kathy Gannon successful Guelph, Canada; Joseph Krauss successful Jerusalem; ​Matthew Lee successful Washington; James LaPorta successful Boca Raton, Florida; Aya Batrawy successful Dubai; and Frank Jordans successful Berlin contributed to this report.