Arthur Greene
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Taliban militants entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Just hours later, reports had surfaced that the country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, had fled the country.
The Islamist group are on the verge of taking full control of Afghanistan, 20 years after being removed by the US military.
The capture of Kabul will complete a rapid rise to power for the Taliban, in a military campaign which has taken just over a week.
The group’s path to power was paved by the US’s decision in May to remove its military from the country. Without the support of the US military, Afghan government forces proved no match for the Taliban.
Taliban forces have reportedly blocked every ground route in and out of Kabul. The US sent helicopters to evacuate its embassy in the capital early on Sunday.
“Kabul is now effectively surrounded — all major roads to Kabul are closed,” Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal, wrote on Twitter.
Scenes in the city are chaotic. Embassy staff are reportedly burning sensitive documents while banks have been overrun with people trying to withdraw savings.
Taliban forces have also reportedly begun searching homes for weapons and alcohol, which is forbidden under strict Muslim law.
Afghans who have worked for western military forces now fear for their lives, as they expect severe punishment from Taliban forces.
One former interpreter for the Australian military told a Guardian reporter that he expects to be executed by the Taliban.
Many Afghani women also fear oppression under a Taliban regime, as the group seeks to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
“I wish I could go to Kabul now and scream outside the US embassy, ‘We are also human beings like you and we also have the right to live and enjoy freedom’,” one woman told the Financial Times.
Years of progress improving girls’ access to education will likely disappear overnight.
Image source: @AP
