The Taliban on Friday seized another three provincial capitals, Terenkot, Pul-e Alam, Feruz Koh, Qala-e Naw, and Lashkar Gah within hours after capturing Herat and Kandahar cities.
With these three cities, the Taliban controlled over 18 provincial capitals across Afghanistan.
According to AP news, the Taliban so far controlled 18 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, including its second- and third-largest cities, Herat and Kandahar. The Taliban now control more than two-thirds of the country just weeks before the U.S. plans to withdraw its last troop
The latest advances came hours after the Taliban captured the country’s second and third largest cities in a lightning advance. The seizures of Kandahar and Herat mark the biggest victories yet for the Taliban
The latest victory of the Taliban was Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where American, British and allied NATO forces fought some of the bloodiest battles in the past 20 years. Hundreds of foreign troops were killed in the province, which is also a major opium hub.
Thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid fears the Taliban will again impose a brutal, repressive government, all but eliminating women’s rights and conducting public executions.
Western embassies and aid agencies began evacuating civilian staff from Afghanistan on Friday after the Taliban claimed to have captured two of its biggest cities in an advance that has raised fears of the collapse of the US-backed government.
In response to the Taliban’s swift and violent advances, the Pentagon said it would send about 3,000 extra troops within 48 hours to help evacuate embassy personnel.
Also read |U.S. to send additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to provide security for US personnel
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) calls on Afghanistan’s neighbors to keep borders open as Taliban advances heightened the country’s crisis.
“An inability to seek safety may risk innumerable civilian lives. UNHCR stands ready to help national authorities scale up humanitarian responses as needed,” a spokesperson for the agency says at a briefing in Geneva.
(With inputs from agencies)
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