Taliban seizes Ghazni, Afghan gov’t offers ‘share in power’: Live

The Taliban armed group has taken control of Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province, about 130km (80 miles) southwest of capital Kabul.

It becomes the 10th provincial capital to fall within days.

A government source tells Al Jazeera that the Afghan government has offered the Taliban a share in power so long as the rising violence in the country comes to a halt.

Meanwhile, fighting is raging in Lashkar Gah, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities in the Taliban heartland of Helmand province.

The Lashkar Gah regional police headquarters were taken by the armed group, with some police officers surrendering to the fighters and others retreating to the nearby governor’s office still held by government forces.

Here are all the latest updates:

30 mins ago (08:52 GMT)

Afghan government offers Taliban share in power

A government source has confirmed to Al Jazeera that the Afghan government has offered the Taliban a share in power so long as the rising violence in the country comes to a halt.

The proposal was delivered through Qatar, the host of Afghan peace talks, according to the source, Al Jazeera’s Ali M Latifi reports from Kabul.

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1 hour ago (08:11 GMT)

Taliban take Ghazni city on road to Afghan capital: Official

Taliban fighters capture the city of Ghazni, the 10th provincial capital they have seized in several days.

A senior security official tells Reuters news agency the Taliban had captured Ghazni, which is on the highway between Kabul and the second city of Kandahar, and had occupied all of its government agency headquarters after heavy clashes.

“All local government officials, including the provincial governor, have been evacuated towards Kabul,” says the official who declined to be identified.

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1 hour ago (08:07 GMT)

Denmark to evacuate current, former local employees

Denmark has agreed to evacuate current and former employees of the Danish embassy or Danish armed forces in Afghanistan due to the worsening security situation, the government says.

Denmark will grant people who have been employed in the previous two years and their close relatives temporary residence permits for two years, the government says.

“The security situation in Afghanistan is serious. The Taliban are gaining ground and developments are accelerating faster than many had feared,” the government says in a statement.

“We have a common responsibility to help the Afghans who are now threatened due to their connection to and contribution to Denmark’s engagement in Afghanistan,” it said.

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1 hour ago (08:01 GMT)

Last day of Afghanistan talks begins in Doha

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Doha, says the third and last day of multination talks on Afghanistan have started in the Qatari capital.

“The delegations we have not yet seen appear here today at the main venue for these talks are the delegations for the Afghan government and the Taliban,” he says.

“I spoke with one member of the Afghan government delegation who said that they expect they will be meeting with the envoys who have assembled here in this hall for around 2pm Doha time (11:00 GMT).”

Private militia loyal to Ismail Khan, the ex-Mujahideen commander in Herat province [Hamed Sarfarazi/AP]

“The sense that we are getting from all the diplomats is that they are extremely concerned about what’s been going on in Afghanistan and they are trying to come up with some type of joint plan in order to get the situation under control.”

The talks include diplomats and envoys from the US, the UK, the EU, China, Pakistan and Uzbekistan along with the UN.

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2 hours ago (07:45 GMT)

No German money for Afghanistan if Sharia law introduced: FM

Germany will not provide any financial support to Afghanistan if the Taliban takes over power in the country and introduces Sharia law, its foreign minister tells broadcaster ZDF.

“We provide 430 million euros ($505m) every year, we will not give another cent if the Taliban takes over the country and introduces Sharia law,” Heiko Maas says.

Taliban fighters are seen inside the city of Farah [Mohammad Asif Khan/AP]

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2 hours ago (07:37 GMT)

Governor leaves Ghazni city

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Kabul, says the city of Ghazni itself has fallen to the Taliban, but there is still fighting around the intelligence compound.

“The governor of Ghazni has actually left the city,” he says.

“This is a significant gain for the Taliban. There has been an extensive fighting around the city of Ghazni for some days now. It was always suspected that if another provincial capital was about to fall, this would probably be Ghazni.”

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3 hours ago (06:02 GMT)

Police headquarters falls to Taliban in Lashkar Gah

The Taliban has captured police headquarters in Lashkar Gah, a provincial capital in southern Afghanistan that is teetering towards being lost to the armed group as suspected US air raids pounded the area, an official has said.

On Wednesday, a suicide car bombing marked the latest wave to target the capital’s regional police headquarters.

By Thursday, the Taliban had taken the building, with some police officers surrendering to the group and others retreating to the nearby governor’s office still held by government forces, said Nasima Niazi, a lawmaker from Helmand.

Niazi said she believed the Taliban attack killed and wounded security force members, but she had no casualty figures.

Thousands of displaced families  in a park in Kabul [Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency]

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3 hours ago (05:55 GMT)

Taliban launches attacks on Ghazni from several directions

The Taliban appears to be pressing into Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province, about 130km (80 miles) southwest of Kabul.

Wahidullah Jumazada, a spokesman for the provincial governor in Ghazni, acknowledged the fighters had launched attacks from several directions on the capital, but insisted the government remained in control.

The Taliban posted a video online claiming it had made it inside the provincial capital.

Local sources have told Al Jazeera that fighting continues in Ghazni. The most intense fighting remains near the intelligence headquarters as special forces and the military are fighting to push back the Taliban.

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4 hours ago (05:50 GMT)

Taliban breaches Kandahar’s central prison, releases prisoners

Local security sources have confirmed Taliban reports that the group has breached the central prison in the city of Kandahar, Al Jazeera’s Ali M Latifi reports from Kabul.

The armed group claims to have freed “hundreds” of prisoners, he said.

“Previously, the Taliban had breached the Kandahar prison in 2008 and 2011, those breaches also led to the escape of hundreds of prisoners.”

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4 hours ago (05:45 GMT)

UN: Almost 390,000 people newly displaced in Afghanistan

Almost 390,000 people have been newly displaced by conflict in Afghanistan since the start of the year, with a huge spike since May, a UN spokesperson says.

“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that between 1 July and 5 August 2021, the humanitarian community verified that 5,800 internally displaced persons have arrived in Kabul and are seeking safety from the conflict and other threats,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

He added that a multi-billion dollar humanitarian assistance fund for Afghanistan had a shortfall of $800m.