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The United States and Britain sent troops to evacuate their nationals.
Officials said on Friday that the Taliban had occupied Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan, which was the biggest setback for the US-backed government since the rebels launched a new offensive after the withdrawal of US troops.
The Taliban also stated that they occupied Herat, the third largest city in the west, Lashkar Gah in the south and Qala-e-Naw in the northwest.
As telephone lines were interrupted in most parts of the country, Reuters was unable to contact government officials immediately to confirm which of the three attacked cities was still in the hands of the government.
Kandahar is the heartland of the Taliban. Pashtun fighters appeared in the province in the chaos of the civil war in 1994 and swept most of the country in the next two years.
“After intense clashes late last night, the Taliban took control of the city of Kandahar,” a government official told Reuters after the militants declared the occupation.
Government forces still control the Kandahar Airport, which was the second largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan during its 20-year mission.
The United States will send an additional 3,000 soldiers
In response to the Taliban’s swift and violent offensive, the Pentagon stated that it would send about 3,000 more soldiers within 48 hours to help evacuate the staff of the US Embassy.
Britain said it would deploy about 600 soldiers to help its citizens leave, while other embassies and aid groups said they were also letting their people leave.
An official of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul said on Friday: “It is best to reduce our footprint, not only because the threat of violence is increasing, but also because of the increasing resources.”
“Medical facilities are under tremendous pressure. We have also noticed Covid-19 and testing has almost stopped.”
After they attacked the United States on September 11, 20 years after they expelled the Taliban, the speed of the offensive prompted many Afghans to accuse President Joe Biden of his decision to withdraw.
Biden said this week that he does not regret his decision, noting that Washington has spent more than $1 trillion in the longest war in the United States and lost thousands of soldiers.
The US State Department said that Secretary of State Anthony Brinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with President Ashraf Garni on Thursday and told him that the United States “still invests in the security and stability of Afghanistan.” They also stated that the United States is committed to supporting a political solution.
It is only in the last few days that the Taliban have focused their offensive on the north, an area they never fully controlled during their rule, and the heartland of the Northern Alliance forces that marched into Kabul with the support of the United States in 2001.
On Thursday, the Taliban also occupied Ghazni, a historic city 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Kabul.
The government still controls the major cities in the north-Mazar-i-Sharif-and Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border in the east, as well as Kabul.
On Wednesday, a US defense official quoted US intelligence as saying that the Taliban could isolate Kabul within 30 days and possibly occupy it within 90 days.
Open the door?
The United Nations warned that the arrival of the Taliban’s offensive in the capital would “cause a catastrophic impact on civilians,” but there is little hope of negotiating to end the battle with the Taliban, which has clearly won a military victory.
In the withdrawal of the agreement reached with the administration of former US President Donald Trump last year, the insurgents agreed not to attack foreign troops headed by the United States when they withdrew.
They also promised to discuss peace issues, but intermittent meetings with government representatives proved fruitless. International envoys participating in the Afghanistan negotiations in Qatar called for speeding up the peace process as an “emergency matter” and stopping attacks on the city.
A Taliban spokesperson told Al Jazeera: “We will not close the door to the political track.”
British and American evacuation of nationals and embassy staff
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said this week that unless Ghani resigned, the Taliban would refuse to negotiate. Many people on both sides would think that this is tantamount to the surrender of the government, and there is nothing to discuss other than the terms.
Pakistan officially denies support for the Taliban.
Afghans, including many who have grown up since the Taliban were expelled, have vented their anger on social media.
The diplomat said that the UN Security Council is discussing a draft statement that will condemn the Taliban attacks, threaten sanctions, and confirm that it does not recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
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