Presidential palace in Kabul occupied: Taliban take power

“The war in Afghanistan is over”: With these words, the Taliban occupied the presidential palace in Kabul and took power. President Ghani fled – presumably to Tashkent.

Two decades after being overthrown, the Taliban moved into the center of power in Afghanistan on Sunday. After their lightning advance, armed fighters of the radical Islamic militia celebrated their “victorious” campaign against the Afghan government in the presidential palace in Kabul. TV pictures showed dozens of armed fighters in the official residence of the head of state.

“The war in Afghanistan is over,” said Taliban Politburo spokesman Mohammad Naeem, Al-Jazeera broadcaster. “We assure everyone that we will keep citizens and diplomatic missions safe,” he added. The form of the government will soon be determined.

Allegedly no retaliation

The Taliban announced an amnesty for those who worked for the government or for foreign forces. But there are already numerous reports of retaliatory killings and other brutal tactics by the Taliban from conquered areas.

Contact with other countries is sought because one does not want to live in isolation. “We ask all countries and organizations to sit down with us to solve all problems.” The Taliban are now reaping the fruits of their efforts and sacrifices over the past 20 years, Naeem said. “We achieved what we wanted, namely the freedom of our country and the independence of our people.” Nobody wants to be harmed and nobody is allowed to attack other targets from Afghanistan.

USA secure airport

In Kabul, the Taliban took over abandoned police stations on Sunday evening and assured them that they would ensure law and order during the transition period. Employees also fled authorities and government buildings as the Taliban drew nearer. Shots could only be heard sporadically in the city, there was no real resistance. People tried to withdraw their savings at ATMs. Residents of Kabul reported looting, especially in the diplomatic quarter.

The US announced measures to secure the airport. This should enable the “safe departure” of employees of the USA and allied states in civil and military aircraft. The USA, Germany and other western countries had previously cleared their embassies in Kabul and brought their employees to the airport to fly them out.

Commercial air traffic there was interrupted after gunfire was fired at the airport, according to US military circles. Military machines could still take off, however. Smoke rose from the US embassy building as sensitive documents were burned to keep them from falling into the hands of the Taliban.

Ghani probably in Uzbekistan

After a ten-day campaign of conquest through Afghanistan, the radical Islamic militia reached the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday. The Afghan government gave up and agreed to hand over power, and President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad.

Hours after his escape, Ghani spoke out on Facebook with a statement: “The Taliban have won,” he wrote. He fled Afghanistan to “prevent a flood of bloodshed”. If he had stayed, “countless patriots” would have been killed and Kabul destroyed, he added. Ghani did not say in which country he is now. As reported by the Al Jazeera broadcaster, citing a bodyguard of the politician, Ghani and his chief of staff set off for the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

Numerous high-ranking government officials were caught off guard by Ghani’s hasty departure. “May God hold him accountable,” said his rival Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation. “The devil should get Ghani and his gang,” wrote the incumbent Defense Minister Bismillah Chan Mohammadi on Twitter.

UN Security Council meets

After the invasion of the Taliban, UN Secretary General António Guterres called on the Islamists to exercise restraint. He is particularly concerned about the future of women and girls in Afghanistan, “whose hard-won rights must be protected,” said Guterres. He called on the Taliban and everyone else involved to “exercise extreme restraint” and allow humanitarian workers unhindered access to the people.

The UN Security Council meets in the afternoon to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The meeting had been requested by Estonia and Norway. The United Nations are still trying to contribute to a “peaceful solution to the conflict,” said Guterres.