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KABUL (Reuters): The territory controlled by the crumbling Afghan government has shrunk to little more than Kabul after the Taliban captured the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif while the United States sent more troops to help evacuate its civilians.
The hardline militants have swept through the country in recent weeks as US-led forces withdrew. The Taliban campaign accelerated to lightning speed in the last week, shocking Western countries, and the Afghan military’s defences appeared to collapse.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday authorized the deployment of 5,000 troops to help evacuate citizens and ensure an “orderly and safe” drawdown of US military personnel. A US defence official said that included 1,000 newly approved troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.
Taliban fighters entered Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday virtually unopposed as security forces escaped up the highway to neighbouring Uzbekistan, about 80 km (50 miles) to the north, provincial officials said. Unverified video on social media showed Afghan army vehicles and men in uniforms crowding the iron bridge between the Afghan town of Hairatan and Uzbekistan.
Two influential militia leaders supporting the government – Atta Mohammad Noor and Abdul Rashid Dostum – also fled. Noor said on social media that the Taliban had been handed control of Balkh province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is located, due to a “conspiracy.”
In a statement late on Saturday, the Taliban said its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and reassured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.
The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) “will, as always, protect their life, property and honour and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation,” it said, adding that diplomats and aid workers would also face no problems.
Read more: Remobilisation of armed forces top priority: Afghan President Ghani
Hundreds of people slept huddled in tents or in the open in the city, by roadsides, or in car parks, a resident said. “You can see the fear in their faces,” he said. Western governments were accelerating plans to evacuate their embassy staff, citizens, and Afghans who had worked for them.
American troops arrived in Kabul to protect the operation and keep control of the airport. The State Department has reached out to advocates to request names of Afghans in Kabul who have worked with the Americans and need to be evacuated, two sources familiar with the matter said. The list of names could include journalists and human rights activists.
The British ambassador will leave the country by Sunday evening, UK media reported. The country, which was sending 600 troops, sped up the departure of Britons due to the rising risk that the Taliban would overrun the airport, the reports said.
