Taliban offensive

An explosion outside Kabul airport killed at least 13 people, including children, and wounded many Taliban guards, Reuters quoted a Taliban official as saying on Aug. 26.

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The official said many Taliban guards were wounded.

Western nations rushed to complete the evacuation of thousands of people from Afghanistan on Aug. 25 as the Aug. 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops drew closer with no sign that the country's new Taliban rulers might allow an extension.

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Images from Kabul have been shaking the world for days, and media reports are full of stories about (un)successful evacuations, both of foreigners and Afghans, who are trying in every way to leave that country.

A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul's international airport killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military said on Aug. 22, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Taliban's takeover of the country.

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US President Joe Biden has said US troops may stay in Afghanistan beyond his withdrawal deadline, as armed Taliban fighters kept desperate evacuees from reaching Kabul's airport.

Mr Biden wants US forces out by the end of this month, but up to 15,000 US citizens are stranded in the country.

The US president told in tv interview the turmoil in Kabul was unavoidable.

The EU will have to talk with the Taliban after the group seized control of Afghanistan before officially recognising them, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after online meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"The Taliban have won the war, so we will have to talk with them," he pointed out, while stressing this does not mean moving quickly to official recognition. 

He added that Brussels would have to co-operate with the radical Afghan movement as they emerged victorious from a decade-long conflict.
The group now has full control of Afghanistan, following the complete collapse of the US-backed Afghan government in 2001.

Qatari television previously broadcast footage showing Taliban commanders and soldiers celebrating victory in the hallways of the residence and in the office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has left the country. The Taliban also said they had taken responsibility for the security of the presidential palace, reports TASS.

Wherever the Americans were, they left that place eventually, and Pristina must think about that, says Odalovi.

The Taliban were in control of Afghanistan on Aug. 16 after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded the insurgents had won the 20-year war.

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The astonishingly quick collapse of the government, with militants taking over the presidential palace on Sunday night, triggered fear and panic in the capital.