Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters began landing at the United States Embassy in the Afghan capital, further tightening the militants’ grip on the country.
Three Afghan officials told The Associated Press that the fighters were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman in the capital. The militants later pledged not to take the capital of Kabul “by force” as sporadic gunfire could be heard in the capital.
“No one’s life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk,” the Taliban said.
The Taliban had earlier on Sunday seized the last major city outside of Kabul held by the country’s increasingly isolated central government, cutting off the capital to the east as helicopters began landing at the US Embassy in Kabul.
The collapse of Jalalabad, near a major border crossing with Pakistan, left Afghanistan’s central government in control of just Kabul and seven other provincial capitals out of the country’s 34. In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, even with some air support by the US military.
The rapid shuttle-run flights near the embassy began a few hours later as diplomatic armoured SUVs could be seen leaving the area around the post. The US government did not immediately acknowledge the movements. However, wisps of smoke could be seen near the embassy’s roof as diplomats urgently destroyed sensitive documents, according to two American military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the situation.
President Ashraf Ghani, who spoke to the nation on Saturday for the first time since the offensive began, appears increasingly isolated as well. Warlords he negotiated with just days earlier have surrendered to the Taliban or fled, leaving Ghani without a military option. Ongoing negotiations in Qatar, the site of a Taliban office, also have failed to stop the insurgents’ advance.
Thousands of civilians now live in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future. While Kabul appeared calm on Sunday, some ATMs stopped distributing cash as hundreds gathered in front of private banks, trying to withdraw their life savings.
Insurgents posted photos online early on Sunday showing them in the governor’s office in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.
Abrarullah Murad, a lawmaker from the province told The Associated Press that the insurgents seized Jalalabad after elders negotiated the fall of the government there. Murad said there was no fighting as the city surrendered.
