Afghanistan live news Taliban declare war is over as they take control of Kabul

The US embassy in Kabul is telling its citizens and Afghan nationals not to travel to the airport unless they are told to, that it is unsafe.

U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul)

We remind all American citizens and Afghan nationals that the security situation in Kabul remains unsafe. Please do not travel to the airport until notified. https://t.co/GFoQZrmMXs

August 16, 2021

The Australian foreign minister, Marise Payne, says she discussed the “deteriorating situation in Afghanistan” in a call with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, this morning. Payne says the pair “reflected on our respective contributions over many years”.

It remains unclear precisely what evacuation efforts Australia may be involved in, but Payne endorsed a statement backed by the US and dozens of countries with a message for the Taliban. The countries “call on all parties to respect and facilitate, the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country”.

After chaotic scenes at Kabul airport, the Australian government posted that Australians should “not go to the airport unless told by the Australian Government”.

Smartraveller (@Smartraveller)

#Afghanistan update: The security situation in Kabul continues to deteriorate. The situation at the airport is worsening. Do not go to the airport unless told by the Australian Government. Australians in Afghanistan should register with DFAT: https://t.co/pY3ZSLlz6Y. pic.twitter.com/mNBhbGQjtS

August 16, 2021

Emirates has suspended flights to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until further the notice, the airline said on its website.

The website says: “Customers holding tickets with final destination to Kabul will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin.”

Fellow Dubai state-owned carrier Flydubai earlier has also suspended flights to Kabul.

A Taliban leader said on Monday that it was too soon to say how the insurgent group will take over governance in Afghanistan, Reuters reports.

“We want all foreign forces to leave before we start restructuring governance,” the leader told Reuters by phone. He did not want to be named.

He also said that Taliban fighters in Kabul had been warned not to scare civilians and to allow them to resume normal activities.

Reuters is reporting that “a Taliban leader” says it is “too early to say how we will take over governance” and that the group wants “to see foreign forces leave before restructuring begins”.

We’ll have more on this shortly.

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani is now believed to be in Uzbekistan after leaving the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday to the insurgent Taliban fighters, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. Reuters reports the 72-year-old had become an increasingly isolated figure who had an uneasy relationship with the West.

A trained anthropologist, Ghani holds a doctorate from New York City’s Columbia University. He spent almost a quarter of a century outside Afghanistan during the tumultuous decades of Soviet rule, civil war and the Taliban’s years in power.

During that period, he worked as an academic in the US and later with the World Bank and the UN across East and South Asia. His road to the presidency was hard-fought but was twice elected to the top job. Ghani took over from Hamid Karzai in 2014 and oversaw the conclusion of the US combat mission. He made the effort to end decades of war a priority, despite continuing attacks on his government and security forces by the Taliban, and began peace talks with the insurgents in 2020.

He promised to fight rampant corruption, fix a crippled economy and transform the country into a regional trade hub - but was unable to deliver on most of those promises. Ghani’s relationship with Washington and other Western capitals was uneasy.

He was a vocal critic of what he termed wasted international aid in Afghanistan and often did not see eye to eye with the West’s Afghan strategy, particularly as it looked to fast-track a slow and painful peace process with the Taliban.

It is just after 7am in Kabul, where lot has happened in the last few hours. Here is recap:

US state department: all US Embassy personnel evacuated to airport. Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US department of state, said in a statement: “We can confirm that the safe evacuation of all Embassy personnel is now complete. All Embassy personnel are located on the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the US Military,” Price said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman: “The war is over in Afghanistan”. The spokesman for the Taliban’s political office told Al-Jazeera Mubasher TV on Sunday that the war is over in Afghanistan and that the type of rule and the form of regime will be clear soon. Spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that no diplomatic body or any of its headquarters was targeted, saying that the group assures everyone it will provide safety for citizens and diplomatic missions.

United Airlines said late Sunday it is rerouting some flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace after the Taliban took control of the presidential palace in Kabul.

The “vast majority” of Afghanistans assets are not held in the country â€" and therefore cannot fall into the Taliban’s hands, CNN reported, citing a US official familiar with the matter.

More than 60 countries, including the US, issued a joint statement saying Afghans and international citizens who want to leave Afghanistan must be allowed to depart and added airports and border crossings must remain open, the US State Department said late Sunday.

American flag no longer flying at US embassy. A State Department official says the American flag is no longer flying at the US Embassy in Kabul amid evacuations from Afghanistan’s capital. The official tells The Associated Press that nearly all embassy personnel have been relocated to the city’s international airport.

UN chief warns of “serious human rights violations”. UN secretary-general António Guterres has commented on the situation in Afghanistan, warning that “hundreds of thousands” of people are fleeing because of “serious human rights violations”.

There was reportedly “chaos” at Kabul’s airport as people try to leave the country. But those who decide to leave the airport will now face Taliban checkpoints.

The US is sending another 1,000 troops directly to Kabul, bringing US military numbers expected in Afghanistan up to 6,000 in an attempt to execute the safe withdrawal of US nationals and Afghan support staff - between two and three times the number of soldiers that were there last week.

Afghanistan’s erstwhile president Ashraf Ghani is reported to have fled to Tashkent, the capital of neighboring Uzbekistan. Ghani put out an extraordinary message on Facebook saying he left the country to try to avoid a bloody war in Kabul, instead enabling the Taliban to take control with almost no fighting.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken acknowledged that events in the last few days had happened more quickly than anticipated. He sidestepped questions about the chaotic nature of this rushed withdrawal itself.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting in New York at 10am local time on Monday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan.

A Nato official said all commercial flights have been suspended from the airport in Kabul and only military aircraft are currently allowed to operate. The airport is now the only way out of Afghanistan. The Taliban control all land crossings.

United Airlines said late Sunday it is rerouting some flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace.

“Due to the dynamic nature of the situation we have begun routing affected flights around Afghanistan airspace,” a United spokeswoman said in a statement.

The changes impacts several of United’s US to India flights. The US Federal Aviation Administration in July imposed new flight restrictions over Afghanistan for US airlines and other US operators.

It is now 7am in Kabul. Journalist Jawad Sukhanyar is at the airport, where he has filmed people rushing to the terminal:

Jawad Sukhanyar (@JawadSukhanyar)

Another day begins in Kabul, a sea of people rushing into the Kabul airport terminal. #AFG pic.twitter.com/UekpGJ2MWd

August 16, 2021

Just a quick note to say that if you see news you think we may have missed, or have questions, the best place to get in touch with me is on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said the country is working with about 47 New Zealanders to evacuate them from Afghanistan, after the Taliban took power overnight.

Speaking to The AM Show on Monday morning, Ardern said “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was “actively trying to contact those that they believe may be in Afghanistan and working to get people out”.

“Previously there have been commercial options for people to leave on ... that will increasingly, if not already, no longer be an option,” Ardern said.

Nato has confirmed all commercial flights have been suspended from Kabul Airport, which is currently the only way out of Afghanistan. The Taliban control all land crossings. The government is also looking at options to help Afghan workers who may have assisted New Zealand troops in the country.

“Right now, I think everyone’s focus is the security situation on the ground and our responsibility to both our citizens who may be there but also those who may have been connected to our work there,” Ardern said.

The prime minister did not confirm or rule out the possibility of using New Zealand defence force troops to assist with evacuations.

“The NZDF are always on standby - that’s part of their job but they are aware and are part of these active discussions with our partners right now.”

Here is our full story on the astounding events of the last few hours:

The Taliban has declared the war in Afghanistan is over after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as US-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens.

Spokesman Mohammad Naeem said in interviews with Al Jazeera TV the Taliban did not want to live in isolation. He said the group respected women’s and minorities’ rights and freedom of expression within Sharia law.

“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,” he said. “Thanks to God, the war is over in the country.”

Naeem said the Taliban wanted to have peaceful relations with foreign countries. “We ask all countries and entities to sit with us to settle any issues”, he said.

The comments came hours after several key events on Sunday, including Taliban insurgents entering, President Ashraf Ghani leaving Afghanistan saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed and America abandoning its embassy in panic. The swift arrival brings the Islamist militants close to taking over the country two decades after they were overthrown by a US-led invasion. By Monday morning a US official said the majority of Western diplomatic staff had left Kabul.

Even the militants themselves were surprised by the speed of the takeover, co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar admitted in a video statement in the evening. Now the group faces the challenge of ruling, he added. They are expected to proclaim a new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan soon:

In case you missed this earlier, here is the moment that a Taliban spokesperson called the BBC’s Yalda Hakim while she was live on air.

Hakim and her family fled Afghanistan on horseback in the 80s. She was six months old at the time and settled in Australia when she was three.

Stephanie Hegarty (@stephhegarty)

Getting the Taliban spokesman on your own phone while you’re presenting live. @BBCYaldaHakim nailing it, all while dealing with an incredibly upsetting story. Wow 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/9DQpKznlBQ

August 15, 2021

Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US department of state, has confirmed that all US Embassy personnel have now been evacuated to the airport.

“We can confirm that the safe evacuation of all Embassy personnel is now complete. All Embassy personnel are located on the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the US Military,” Price said in a statement.

Our full story on the chaos at Kabul airport now.

Thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals have surged on to the tarmac at Kabul airport seeking a place on a flight out of the country, amid chaotic scenes that unfolded as the Taliban took control of the city.

With the Taliban installed in the presidential palace and the elected president having fled the country, access to Hamid Karzai airport, five kilometres from the centre of the capital, is now possible only through Taliban checkpoints. The US, UK, Germany, Canada and a host of other coalition nations are all seeking to evacuate their nationals from the country. The airport reportedly came under fire on Sunday.

Videos from the airport show people pouring into the terminal building, and even scenes of dozens being pulled into the back of a C-17A military aircraft on the tarmac.

Thousands of people â€" including parents carrying young children â€" are seen surging towards planes on the airfield. US Humvees are also on the ground at the airport.

In one video a woman calls out “look at the state of the people of Afghanistan”:

Most Western diplomats have left Kabul, a US official said on Monday as Taliban insurgents took over the Afghanistan capital.

“I can safely say the majority of Western diplomatic staff is out of Kabul now,” the official told Reuters. Some support staff remain, the official added.

Helicopters have been ferrying diplomats from the embassy district in the city to Kabul airport since Sunday, when the Taliban entered the city.

From CNN, on visas for Afghan citizens to the US:

As of last Thursday, 1,200 Afghans and their families had been evacuated to America as part of the administration’s “Operation Allies Refuge,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. Those Afghans had been processed at Fort Lee in Virginia, but there are current efforts underway to prepare more US military bases to take in SIV applicants, including Fort Bliss in Texas, two sources familiar with the discussions said.

...

According to sources familiar with the matter, Biden national security officials told senators during a briefing on Afghanistan Sunday that there are as many as 60,000 Afghans who could potentially qualify as SIV holders or applicants, P1/P2 refugees, or others like human rights defenders and could need evacuation.

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