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Taliban Take Afghanistan Following US Withdrawal Leading To Mass Evacuation

Jesse Williams

By Jesse Williams

Jesse Williams

16 Aug 2021


Thousands of Afghans mobbed Hamid Karzai International Airport in its capital Kabul, trying to flee from the now Taliban occupied city.

Thousands tried to push their way on to planes departing the country, scaling towers and following US military planes across the runway.

The Taliban declared the 20 year war in Afghanistan over after its fighters swept into the capital, with President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country.

Nations scrambled to evacuate their diplomats, citizens and some local Afghan staff abandoning their embassies.

The Talibans victory comes in spite of the radical group modest 80,000 troops in comparison to the 300,699 serving the Afghan government. 

Senior Taliban leaders told The Times they would accept nothing less than “absolute power”, with plans for a transitional government to oversee a peaceful transfer of control refused. “We did not fight to share power with anyone,” one said.

Unfortunately for fearful Afghans Western powers have seemingly washed their hands of the crisis, declaring no intention to intervene.

“I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News. “I mean, you don’t have to be a political scientist to spot that’s where we’re at.”

Asked if Britain and NATO would return to Afghanistan, Wallace said: “That’s not on the cards that we’re going to go back”.

While relations with the west may be coming to a catastrophic end for Afghanistan, early this year the Taliban held official talks with China over the reconstruction of the nation.

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