The Taliban have entered the Afghan capital Kabul from all sides, the Afghan interior ministry said on Sunday.
Sirens could be heard along with sporadic gunfire.
Multiple helicopters were flying above the city centre and were dropping flares, Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis reported from Kabul.
Panicked workers fled government offices.
Thousands of civilians now live in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future.
After its lightning advance on the capital, the armed group ordered its fighters to refrain from violence, allow safe passage to anyone seeking to leave and requested women to head to protected areas, said a Taliban leader in Doha.
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