The Taliban declared that the war in Afghanistan was over after they took control of the presidential palace in Kabul. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday, August 15th, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans were desperate to leave the flooded Kabul airport.
On Monday, August 16th, western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens. American diplomats were flown by helicopter to the airport from their embassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district. The press reported that senior US military officials said Kabul International Airport had been closed to commercial flights as military evacuations continue in the city.
An official part of the militant group said the Taliban would soon declare the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ from the presidential palace– a return rich in symbolism to the country’s name under the Taliban government ousted by US-led forces after the 9/11 attacks.
