Taliban Declares ‘War Is Over In Afghanistan’ As US-led Forces Exit Kabul

• Swift arrival of the Taliban brings the Islamist militants close to taking over the country two decades after they were overthrown by a US-led invasion

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.

Also, a senior Taliban official said; it is ‘too early to say how we will take over governance’. The Taliban leader said 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.

US State Department
All United States Embassy personnel have been evacuated to the Kabul airport, according to Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US department of state.

Price said in a statement that; “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.”

Taliban spokesman
Reacting to events unfolding in the country, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, Mohammad Naeem, told Al-Jazeera Mubasher TV on Sunday that the war is over in Afghanistan and that the type of rule and the form of the regime will be clear soon.

Naeem said 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.

Emirates Airlines suspends flights to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital until further 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.

Also, United Airlines said late Sunday it is re-routing 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 – 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 reported “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 neighbouring Uzbekistan. Ghani put out an extraordinary message on Facebook saying he left the country to try to avoid a bloody war in Kabul, instead of 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 10 am 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. – With Guardian reports