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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the Taliban to immediately stop their offensive in Afghanistan, warning that the country is “out of control.”
“The message from the international community to those on the road of war must be clear: the seizure of power through military force is a failed proposition. This will only lead to a prolonged civil war or the complete isolation of Afghanistan,” Guterres told Friday. The reporter said.
Guterres called on all parties to take more measures to protect civilians. He also said that “early signs show that the Taliban have imposed strict restrictions on human rights in the areas under their control, especially for women and journalists. He is deeply disturbed by this.”
“It is especially frightening and heartbreaking to see reports of Afghan girls and women being denied their hard-earned rights,” he said.
A UN spokesperson said earlier on Friday that the UN is assessing the security situation in Afghanistan “hourly” and transferring some staff to the capital Kabul, but no one has been evacuated from the country.
Afghanistan is getting out of control. Every day, conflicts are causing greater losses to civilians, especially women and children.
I remind all parties that they have an obligation to protect civilians. I call on the Taliban to immediately end the offensive and return to the peace negotiation table.
— Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 13, 2021
The request of the United Nations Secretary-General is to seize the country after an armed group Second and third largest citiesOn Friday, in Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south, residents were disbelieved due to the collapse of government forces, and raised major concerns that the attack on the capital Kabul may only last for a few days.
“They really betrayed us, There is no government resistance,” a female resident of Kandahar told Al Jazeera with tears. “I never thought that Kandahar would be occupied so easily,” she added.
Witnesses in Herat and Kandahar told Al Jazeera that members of the armed group had begun to search the homes of residents – looking for people close to the government, and seizing guns and vehicles.
Ismail Khan, one of Herat’s most high-profile commanders fighting for the Afghan government Captured by the Taliban on Friday. According to Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Beth, Khan boarded the plane to Kabul and conveyed the message of armed groups to senior figures in Kabul.
“The suggestion is that they want to avoid fighting in the capital, and the Taliban have some suggestions on how to avoid such fighting,” Beth said.
Who controls what
Since August 6, at least half of the country’s 34 provinces have fallen into the hands of the Taliban, which means it now controls more than two-thirds of the country.
The Kabul government supported by the West still controls a small number of provinces in the central and eastern regions, as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Although Kabul has not been directly threatened, a source from Logar Province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the capital, told Al Jazeera that fierce fighting in the province continues.
The US military estimates that Kabul may be under pressure from the Taliban within 30 days, and the Taliban may occupy other areas of the country within a few months. They have occupied most of the northern and western parts of the country.
With the rapid deterioration of the security situation, the United States plans to send 3,000 soldiers to help evacuate some personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Britain and Canada are also sending troops to assist them in their evacuation. Denmark said it will temporarily close its embassy, while Germany will reduce its embassy staff to an “absolute minimum.”
400,000 civilians displaced
Thousands of Afghans fled their homes because they feared that the Taliban would restore the country to the kind of brutal repressive rule it imposed when it last took power at the turn of the millennium.
At that time, the organization almost cancelled women’s rights and carried out public executions because it imposed ruthless Islamic law. Early signs of this strategy appeared in Herat, where Taliban fighters marched in the street on Friday. Two alleged looters were covered with black makeup on their faces.
There are also fears that the fighting may plunge the country into a civil war, which is what happened after the Soviet Union withdrew in 1989.
The UN refugee agency stated that since the end of May, nearly 250,000 Afghans have been forced to flee their homes, and 80% of the displaced are women and children. The agency said that since the beginning of this year, a total of about 400,000 civilians have been displaced, joining the millions who have fled previous rounds of fighting in recent decades.
After the United States spent nearly 20 years and $830 billion trying to build a functioning country, this onslaught represented the shocking collapse of the Afghan army.
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the US military overthrew the Taliban, which was planned and implemented by Al Qaeda under the aegis of the Taliban government.
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