The Taliban maintained control of Afghanistan this Monday and conceded that the insurgents won the 20-year war.

Scenes of panic were lived in the capital following the rapid collapse of the government, when insurgents stormed the presidential palace on Sunday.

Thousands of people tried to flee on Monday fearing the Taliban’s strict version of Islam, with scenes of chaos as crowds gathered at the airport.

Ghani fled Sunday when insurgents surrounded Kabul, sealing a military victory in which the Taliban took all major Afghan cities in just 10 days.

“The Taliban won with the judgment of their swords and weapons, and now they are responsible for the honor, possession and self-preservation of their country,” pointed Ghani in a message on Facebook.

For his part, the co-founder of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, also announced the victory of the movement.

“Now we have to show that we can serve our nation and ensure safety and well-being,” Baradar said in a video.

Government forces collapsed without the support of US troops, who invaded the country in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks and deposed the US troops. taliban for their support of Al Qaeda.

United States failed to build a democratic government capable of resisting the Taliban, despite investing billions of dollars and providing military support for two decades.

President Joe Biden was determined to withdraw troops from his country by the end of this month, and insisted that he was not going to “pass this war on” to another president.

Quick collapse

Taliban fighters take control of Afghanistan's presidential palace in Kabul after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday, August 15, 2021.

Taliban fighters take control of Afghanistan’s presidential palace in Kabul after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday, August 15, 2021.

But the rapid collapse of the Afghan government left Washington stunned.

US authorities insisted there would not be a panic evacuation like Saigon in 1975, but US officials, their Afghan allies and other residents rushed to flee Kabul on Monday.

United States has sent 6,000 soldiers to the airport to evacuate embassy and Afghan personnel who supported them as interpreters or in other functions.

After initial doubts about the situation at the airport, the spokesman for the State Department, Ned Price, assured that the perimeter of the terminal was protected by US troops.

“All the embassy personnel are in the facilities of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the United States Army.” Price said.

Washington also issued a statement with more than 65 countries urging the Taliban to allow the Afghans to leave and warning them that they must answer for any abuse.

“The United States joins the international community in affirming that Afghan and international citizens who wish to leave should be allowed to do so,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.

The Ghani government was completely isolated on Sunday when insurgents razed the anti-Taliban stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

“Those who hold positions of power and authority in Afghanistan are responsible for protecting human lives,”  he added.

The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, urged the Taliban not to incur excesses, and asked to protect the rights of women and girls, who suffered under the former Taliban government.

The UN also said the Security Council would meet on Monday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters and local residents sit in an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle in Laghman province on August 15, 2021.

Taliban fighters and local residents sit in an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle in Laghman province on August 15, 2021.

Isolated

As with other captured cities, the seizure of power occurred after government forces surrendered or withdrew. Then they surrounded the capital.

On Sunday night, thousands of police and other government security forces suddenly abandoned their posts, uniforms and even weapons.

Three senior Taliban security sources told AFP that their fighters seized control of the presidential palace and that they would discuss security at a meeting in the capital.

For tens of thousands of people who sought refuge in recent weeks, the dominant feeling was apprehension and fear.

“I am concerned that there will be a lot of fighting here,” A doctor who arrived with his family of 35 from Kunduz told AFP.

“I prefer to go home, where I know it has already stopped,” added the doctor, who asked not to be identified.

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