The United States began evacuating embassy staff from Kabul last night. President Biden has now sent 5,000 military personnel to Afghanistan to make sure the operation is “orderly and safe.”
According to an embassy employee, only a small group has left and the embassy continues to operate normally.
The Taliban took control of the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan last night. This means that the Taliban controls the largest cities except for the capital, Kabul, and the capital is isolated from the east. The fall of Kabul may be a matter of days.
This is why the Americans hastened the evacuation of the Afghan capital. Biden told the Taliban that they would “respond and respond forcefully” if they put American personnel in Kabul at risk. The message was conveyed to Taliban representatives in Qatar.
strategy
Jalalabad is strategically located on a major road used to transport goods to and from Pakistan.
According to the latest reports, the Taliban approached the capital within a few dozen kilometers. According to a source from the Associated Press, the Taliban are 11 kilometers from Kabul.
Document destruction
The Associated Press reported that US embassy officials are destroying sensitive documents to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
Government forces have been trained for years by Western countries, including the Netherlands, but now refuse to fight in many cases. Weapons are left in several places and the army is fleeing.
NOS op 3 gave an explanation about the current situation in Afghanistan – but also about how the country got here. Watch it here:
