The Taliban seized more major cities on Friday as they continue towards full control of Afghanistan and inched closer to the capital, Kabul, even as the United States and Britain have deployed thousands of troops to evacuate their citizens from the capital.
According to media reports, the evacuation orders came as the Taliban took control of Kandahar — the nation’s second-biggest city — leaving only Kabul, Afghanistan capital, and small regions in government hands.
This is in continuation of the Taliban onslaught on Afghanistan since the US withdrew its troops, after over 20 years of presence in the country
Meanwhile, Washington and London on Thursday, announced plans to pull out their embassy staff and citizens from the capital.
The Pentagon said 3,000 US troops would be deployed to Kabul within the next 24 to 48 hours, underscoring they would not be used to launch attacks against the Taliban.
Britain was also deploying around 600 troops to help evacuate its roughly 3,000 nationals from the country, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the “vast bulk” of remaining embassy staff in Kabul would return to the UK.
Other nations, including Denmark, Norway, and Germany, announced their Kabul embassies would be temporarily shuttered or operations reduced due to security concerns.
The insurgents have reportedly taken over more than half the nation’s provincial capitals in the past week.
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