Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.
The Taliban entered the capital early Sunday and an official in the militant group said it would soon announce the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace — a return rich in symbolism to the name of the country under the Taliban government ousted by U.S.-led forces after the 9/11 attacks.
The Taliban are claiming to have taken over the presidential palace in Kabul.
President Ghani left the country earlier on Sunday – but the exact situation at the palace is still unclear. (AP/BBC)
BBC summary
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has left the country bound for Tajikistan, reports say
- A Taliban spokesman says their fighters have been ordered to enter the city to prevent looting
- Reports from Kabul say the Taliban have seized the presidential palace
- Earlier they were told to refrain from violence and allow safe passage for anyone wanting to leave
- Eyewitnesses say the militants met little resistance along the way to the capital
- The Taliban capture more territory, including the former US airbase at Bagram and the central Bamiyan province
- US begins evacuating staff from its embassy in Kabul