Al Jazeera airs footage of Islamist fighters inside the palace, as Canada shuts its embassy and Germany begins evacuating diplomatic staff
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban forces fanned out across Kabul on Sunday night as an official with the militant group said it would soon announce the creation of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” from the presidential palace in the capital.
That was the name of the country under Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by US-led forces after the 9/11 attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The Al-Jazeera news network later aired footage showing a group of Taliban fighters inside the presidential palace.
The city was gripped by panic, with helicopters racing overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the US embassy. Smoke rose near the compound, as staff destroyed important documents, and the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting about Afghanistan on Monday morning, at the request of Estonia and Norway.
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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country earlier Sunday, said he left in order to “prevent a flood of bloodshed,” as the Taliban entered the capital, capping a lightning offensive across the country.
Ghani, who did not say where he had gone, said he believed “countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be destroyed” if he had stayed behind.
“The Taliban have won… and are now responsible for the honor, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,” Ghani wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.
Though the Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, the US embassy suspended operations and warned Americans late in the day to shelter in place and not try to get to the airport.
Commercial flights were suspended after sporadic gunfire erupted at the airport, according to two senior US military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. Evacuations continued on military flights, but the halt to commercial traffic closed off one of the last routes available for Afghans fleeing the country.
“The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council. “God should hold him accountable.”
