Status: 08/14/2021 8:10 p.m.
Until a few weeks ago, the Bundeswehr still had its headquarters in Afghanistan in Mazar-i-Sharif – now this city has also fallen to the Taliban. The army is said to have fled to Uzbekistan without a fight.
According to media reports, the Taliban also took control of the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of the country during their campaign of conquest in Afghanistan. First soldiers of the army surrendered and then militias loyal to the government, said MP Abas Ebrahimsada from the province of Balkh to the AP news agency.
The Bundeswehr had its headquarters in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh, until June. Balkh is the second largest province in Afghanistan and Mazar-i-Sharif is the fourth largest city in the country.
Ebrahimsada said all the provincial government buildings as well as the governor’s office are under Taliban control. The insurgents had previously attacked the city from several sides. First the army surrendered, then allied militias also lost morale.
Balkh provincial council chairman Afsal Hadid told Reuters that the city apparently fell to the Taliban without a fight. The security forces fled towards the Uzbek border.
Taliban continue to advance on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul
Oliver Mayer, ARD New Delhi, daily news 8 p.m., August 14, 2021
Advance on Kabul
There is also heavy fighting in the vicinity of the capital. A province south of Kabul has been completely captured by the Taliban. Another, Wardak, southwest of Kabul, is contested. Apparently the radical Islamists want to surround the capital, as they have done with other cities before.
In addition, Sharana, the capital of the Paktika province on the border with Pakistan, fell to the insurgents, as a representative from this province, Khalid Assad, told the AP. The fighting there began in the morning, then tribal elders intervened and negotiated a withdrawal of government officials. The governor and officials had surrendered and were on their way to Kabul.
The Taliban also captured Maimana, the capital of Farjab province in the north, a local AP MP confirmed.
Oliver Mayer, ARD New Delhi, on the Taliban’s advance on Kabul
tagesschau24 4:00 p.m., August 14, 2021
Ghani addresses Afghans
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed his people in a televised address at noon. Some observers had expected his resignation, but there was no question of that.
He said he wanted to prevent the achievements of the past 20 years from being lost: “In the current situation, our priority is the cohesion of the security and defense forces and serious action is being taken.”
Most of the provinces are under Taliban control
With the start of the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, which is expected to be completed by the end of the month, the Taliban made large territorial gains and most recently captured many provincial capitals, including Herat and Kandahar, the second and third largest cities in the country and now Mazar-i -Sharif also the fourth largest. About 20 of the 34 provinces are under their control.
The US is sending 3,000 Marines to evacuate its embassy in Kabul this weekend; the vanguard arrived on Friday, another contingent on Saturday.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 with a harsh interpretation of Islamic law. Women were only allowed to leave their homes under certain conditions, and music was forbidden.