Man-made disasters

The Taliban are finally beginning to consolidate power in Afghanistan.

The group is appointing government ministers as it attempts to form a functional apparatus.

The first appointment was an open mockery to the United States - Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as a Defense Minister.

Zakir is a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner between 2001 and 2007.

The Taliban announced on Sept. 7 an interim government drawn exclusively from their own loyalist ranks, with established hardliners in all key posts and no women - despite previous promises to form an inclusive administration for all Afghans.

class='cf'>

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu warned against a possible civil war in Afghanistan and expressed Turkey's will to contribute to peace and stability in the country.

class='cf'>

Elaborating on the Taliban's future government, the minister emphasized that the international community should take a wait-and-see approach before recognizing its rule.

Turkey is working with Qatar and the United States about operating Kabul airport and is in talks with the Taliban, Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu said on Sept. 7, adding security at the airport was the main issue.

class='cf'>

The Taliban on Sept. 6 claimed total control over Afghanistan, saying they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.

class='cf'>

Afghan journalists sheltering in Albania are grateful to have escaped the Taliban take-over but fear for the possible persecution of their families back home.

Turkey has held nearly 95,000 irregular migrants since the start of this year, the country's deputy interior minister said on Sept. 6. 

class='cf'>

A total of 94,915 irregular migrants, including 40,098 Afghans, have been held since the beginning of the year, Ismail Çataklı told a monthly news conference in the capital Ankara.

The Taliban are covering the images of women depicted on the walls of Afghanistan's capital Kabul with paint and writing pro-Taliban slogans over them.

The group, which captured large swathes of the country within days in a sweeping military offensive, is now dictating its rules even though it has not yet made those rules official.

The Taliban on Sept. 6 said their officials held discussions on the situation in Afghanistan with Turkey's ambassador to the country.

class='cf'>

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said on Twitter that Qari Din Mohammad Hanif, head of Taliban's Political Office Department for Turkey and Russia, met with Turkish Ambassador Cihad Erginay in Kabul on Sunday.

The Taliban said on Sept. 6 they had captured the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan, the Panjshir Valley, as the top U.S. diplomat flies to Qatar to try and handle the aftermath of the chaotic American withdrawal.

class='cf'>