Afghanistan LIVE: UN chief urges Security Council to protect human rights

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents entered Kabul on Sunday after virtually surrounding the city from all sides. Word of their arrival spread like wildfire, and the city panicked. There were traffic snarls everywhere, and people rushed home to stock up on essentials, withdrawing money from banks. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country in the afternoon, as most western nations evacuated their embassies, or relocated them closer to the airport.

It was not yet clear where Ghani was headed or how power would be transferred following the militant Islamist group’s lighting sweep across Afghanistan that led back to the capital two decades after it was overthrown by US-led forces.

Meanwhile, India is gearing up to evacuate hundreds of its officials and citizens from Kabul. It is learnt that a fleet of C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force is kept on standby to undertake evacuation missions.

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