Kabul, Aug 15 (UNI) The Taliban on Sunday began entering the Afghan capital Kabul, hours after overrunning the key eastern city of Jalalabad.
According to reports, the Taliban were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman in Kabul.
While sporadic gunfire could be heard, the Taliban pledged not to take Kabul “by force” .
The Islamist militia surrounded Kabul city from all sides, according to the country's Interior Ministry.
The Taliban have captured all major provincial centres and border crossings in Afghanistan except for Kabul.
Gunshots were reported earlier in the day around the presidential palace in the capital as the Taliban closed in on the city.
Later, in a statement, the Taliban said they do not intend to enter Kabul "by force or war, but to negotiate with the other side to enter peacefully."
The militia halted their forces outside the city and said that until the completion of a transitional process, the security of Kabul would belong to the Afghan government.
It added that no retaliation would be sought against civilians or members of the military who served the Kabul administration, media reports said.
The US troops have begun evacuating the American embassy in Kabul, and NATO said its officials had been moved to "safe places" inside the capital.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden said that he has conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha “that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts US personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong US military response”.
UNI RN PS1457