The Taliban seized three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan and a local army headquarters completing their blitz across the country's northeast and pressing their offensive elsewhere, officials said. (August 11)
U.S. officials are reportedly lowering their estimates for how long the Afghan government can hold on
The Taliban seized three more Afghan provincial capitals and a local army headquarters Wednesday, completing a blitz across the country's northeast and giving them control of two-thirds of the nation as the U.S. and NATO finalize their withdrawal after decades of war. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek help from warlords, many linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption, in pushing back the insurgents. While the capital of Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain the control of the slivers of the country it has left.
The Taliban seized three additional provincial capitals in Afghanistan as their military offensive pushes forward, officials said on Wednesday.
‘A RAPIDLY DETERIORATING SECURITY SITUATION’: Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. diplomat who negotiated the withdrawal deal with the Taliban last year, is back in Doha, Qatar, on a desperate rescue mission, a last-ditch attempt to convince the Taliban to halt their military offensive and to negotiate a political settlement.
The Taliban has taken new territories in the north, forcing thousands out of their homes.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Taliban could isolate Afghanistan's capital Kabul in 30 days and potentially take it over in 90 days, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Wednesday, citing a U.S. intelligence assessment. Taliban fighters have taken control of eight provincial capitals in six days, a pace that has surprised U.S. officials. Taliban forces now control 65% of Afghanistan and have taken or threaten to take 11 provincial capitals, a senior EU official said on Tuesday.
China on Tuesday recalled its ambassador to Lithuania and expelled the Baltic nation’s top representative to Beijing over the country’s decision to allow self-governing Taiwan to open an office in Lithuania under its own name. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory without the right to diplomatic recognition, although the island maintains informal ties with all major nations through trade offices that act as de facto embassies, including in the United States and Japan. Chinese pressure has reduced Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies to just 15.
Afghanistan's provincial capitals are falling to the Taliban like dominoes as the U.S. withdraws from the country. Charlie D'Agata has the latest.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will end on Aug. 31, arguing that the Afghan people must decide their own future and that he would not consign another generation of Americans to the 20-year war.The Taliban, fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, have stepped up their campaign to defeat the government as foreign forces withdraw.On Monday, they took Aybak, capital of the northern province of Samangan. And they took three provincial capitals over the weekend."They (the Afghans) have an air force. The Taliban doesn't. They have modern weaponry and organizational skills. The Taliban doesn't. They have superior numbers to the Taliban. And so, again, they have the advantage - advantages. And it's really now their time to use those advantages," Kirby said.
KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday, now controlling 65% of the country, as U.S. President Joe Biden urged the nation's leaders to fight for their homeland. Pul-e-Khumri, capital of the northern province of Baghlan, fell to the Taliban on Tuesday evening, according to residents who reported Afghan security forces retreating toward the Kelagi desert, home to a large Afghan army base. Pul-e-Khumri became the seventh regional capital to come under the control of the Islamist militants in about a week.
The State Department moved Canada to “Level 2: exercise increased caution” on Tuesday. The CDC also moved the country up to level 2 this week.
The White House repeatedly defended withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as the Taliban rapidly gain ground in the war-torn country ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
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Environmental groups sued the federal government for failing to protect animals harmed by the harvest in October. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will change its policy this week, they asked courts to dismiss the suit.
Poland’s parliament has voted in favor of a bill that would force Discovery Inc., the U.S. owner of Poland’s largest private television network, to sell its Polish holdings. The bill, if it gets the Polish president’s approval, is widely viewed as a blow to media independence in Poland. In practice it only affects TVN, which includes TVN24, an all-news station that is critical of the nationalist right-wing government and has exposed wrongdoing by Polish authorities.
Cameron Burrell, a former track and field sprinter for the University of Houston, died earlier this week. "We are profoundly grief stricken," his father, Leroy Burrell, said in a statement.
The United Nations has warned that reports of violation and civilian casualties in Afghanistan by Taliban fighters may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.The stark warning comes as the Taliban tighten their grip on captured territory in the country, now controlling 65% of it, a European Union official said on Tuesday (August 10).President Ashraf Ghani has called on regional strongmen to support his government following a stunning string of Taliban gains after U.S.-led foreign forces pulled out.U.N. human rights office spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, warned of the worsening situation. "Civilian casualties are continuing to mount and reports of violations that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity continued to emerge. We all know that urban warfare results in scores of civilians being killed. We have seen it before, too many times. In Afghanistan, since the 9th of July in four cities alone, and these are Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz, at least 183 civilians have been killed and 1,181 have been injured, including children."Taliban and government officials have confirmed that the Islamist group has overrun six provincial capitals in recent days. The European Union official said on Tuesday (August 10) about 400,000 Afghans have been internally displaced in recent months and there has been an increase in numbers attempting to flee. Shamdasani said those who remain are terrified."The people of Afghanistan are speaking of their deep fears of a return to the worst of the human rights violations of the past. Women, minorities, human rights defenders, journalists as well as others who are particularly vulnerable need particular protection. There are very real risks of renewed atrocities against ethnic and religious minorities."The United States will complete the withdrawal of its forces at the end of this month, under a deal agreed with the Taliban. In return the Taliban has promised not the attack foreign forces as they withdraw but has not agreed a ceasefire with government forces.
Afghanistan's ex-rulers still back brutal punishments, the BBC finds as it goes behind Taliban lines.
President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani at the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on June 25, 2021. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)The Taliban continue to gain territory in their bloody insurgency to seize control of Afghanistan. Recently, Taliban leaders said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s removal is a condition for ending the conflict. If a mutually acceptable candidate were named to replace Ghani, a Taliban spokesman told The Associated Press in late July 2021, the ins
