The Taliban claim to have captured Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city.
Kandahar was one of the cities where the Taliban had the upper hand. This city is also very important in terms of its position in business. On Thursday, several Afghan cities fell.
Herat, Afghanistan’s third largest city in the west, also fell to the Taliban on Thursday.
As US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, Taliban forces are taking control of the country’s provinces and cities. The cities of Herat, Ghazni and Qala-e-Naw in Badghis province collapsed hours apart.
The Taliban have intensified their operations so much that the United States, Britain and Canada have decided to send special forces to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals and staff.
A Taliban spokesman said the group had taken control of Kandahar.
BBC sources say the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, has also fallen to the Taliban. But this news has not been confirmed yet.
There are fears that Taliban forces will move to Kabul from the north and other areas they have seized to overthrow the central government.
Tens of thousands of homeless people aware of the Taliban’s history of violence have fled to the capital to save their lives.
What is the importance of Kandahar?
The Taliban started their operations in Kandahar. It was from this southern city that they campaigned throughout the country in the late 1990s.
The Taliban had been camping outside Kandahar for several weeks before finally invading the city.
They attacked Kandahar Central Prison on Wednesday. Pictures were released on Thursday showing the presence of prisoners in the city.
Apart from its commercial importance, Kandahar is also important for its agriculture and international airport.
The importance of Ghazni is that it is on the way from Kabul to Kandahar. This opens the way for the Taliban to reach the heart of Afghanistan.
The US Embassy in Kabul says it has received reports that the Taliban are executing Afghan troops after surrendering.
The situation of civilians is no better. Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed in the past month.
The Child Rescue Fund says about 72,000 children have fled to Kabul from the northern territories. They spend the night on the streets of the capital.
Germany has threatened to suspend $ 500 million a year in aid if the Taliban take over Afghanistan.
What is the Afghan government doing?
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has so far failed to unite Afghan militants and form an alliance against the Taliban.
On Wednesday, he traveled to Mazar-e-Sharif province to meet with pro-government forces.
Ghani tried for years to oust the Afghan warlords in order to strengthen the Afghan National Army. Now he needs the help of these people again and has extended a helping hand to them.
He met with General Dostum and Atta Noor Mohammad, two Uzbek and Tajik figures in Mazar-e-Sharif to ask them to protect the city.