How the Taliban engineered political collapse of Afghanistan
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How the Taliban engineered political collapse of Afghanistan
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KABUL (Reuters) -Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday to the insurgent Taliban fighters who had toppled his government in a matter of weeks, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. Twice elected president, both times after bitterly disputed contests, the former World Bank academic left the country without saying where he was going. Al Jazeera reported later he had flown to Uzbekistan. To avoid bloodshed, I thought it would be better to leave, he said on Facebook in his first comments. First elected president in 2014, Ghani took over from Hamid Karzai, who led Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, and oversaw the conclusion of the U.S. combat mission, the near-complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country, as well as a fractious peace process with the insurgent Taliban. An increasingly isolated figure, he made the effort to end decades of war a priority, despite continuing attacks on his government and security forces by the Tali
(Reuters) - The insurgent Taliban have captured almost all of Afghanistan, leaving the government in control of little more than the capital Kabul and its immediate surroundings. Here are some facts about the city and previous assaults: CURRENT SITUATION - The city s population of 5 million people has been swollen with thousands fleeing other parts of the country. Thousands of troops from the United States and Britain are flying in to secure the airport and their embassies as foreign missions start evacuating personnel. - The Afghan army has vowed to defend the capital. - Kabul covers an area of about 1,000 square km (400 sq miles) and is ringed by mountains. There are four main roads into the city: from Maidan Shahr in the southwest, Pul-e-Alam in the south, Surobi in the east and Bagram in the north. - The Taliban took Pul-e-Alam on Saturday without much resistance, a local provincial council member said. - The Taliban say they are close to capturing Maidan Shahr. - They have already