Taliban mass ‘at the gates’ of Kabul

Last Updated: August 15, 2021By

Taliban fighters surrounded Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday as the world waited to see what negotiations around a transfer of power would result in.

The armed group seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, sending thousands of internally displaced people fleeing the fighting to Kabul, seeking safety.

In spite of hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO to build up Afghan security forces, the Taliban swiftly defeated, co-opted, or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country.

Fighters remained “at the city’s gates” as sporadic gunfire was heard in streets that were largely quiet.

Taliban forces patrol a street in Herat, Afghanistan August 14, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Taliban fighters and local residents sit over an Afghan National Army (ANA) humvee vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province on August 15, 2021. (Photo by - / AFP)

A Taliban fighter looks on as he stands at the city of Ghazni, Afghanistan August 14, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Taliban militants raise their flag as they gather a day after taking control of Kandahar, Afghanistan, 14 August 2021. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on 14 August said that the 'top priority' is to remobilize troops to counter the Taliban offensive, as the Islamist group seized control of a 20th provincial capital in a little over a week. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

Internally displaced families from northern provinces, who fled from their homes due to the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in a public park in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 August (issued 15 August). The Taliban captured Mazar-i-Sharif, the country's fourth-largest city and the government's last major stronghold in the north on 14 August, as they tightened their grip on the country and closed in on Kabul. Most of the remote districts of the provinces have already fallen to the Taliban in the past three months. EPA-EFE/HEDAYATULLAH AMID

Internally displaced families from northern provinces, who fled from their homes due to the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in a public park in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 August (issued 15 August). The Taliban captured Mazar-i-Sharif, the country's fourth-largest city and the government's last major stronghold in the north on 14 August, as they tightened their grip on the country and closed in on Kabul. Most of the remote districts of the provinces have already fallen to the Taliban in the past three months. EPA-EFE/HEDAYATULLAH AMID

Internally displaced families from northern provinces, who fled from their homes due to the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in a public park in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 August (issued 15 August). The Taliban captured Mazar-i-Sharif, the country's fourth-largest city and the government's last major stronghold in the north on 14 August, as they tightened their grip on the country and closed in on Kabul. Most of the remote districts of the provinces have already fallen to the Taliban in the past three months. EPA-EFE/HEDAYATULLAH AMID

Afghans who work at different offices rush to homes after news broke that Taliban reached on the outskirts of Kabul, in Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 August 2021. The Taliban have reached the outskirts of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, where the Afghan government reported there have been shots heard, although the insurgents said they will not enter the city by force and are negotiating a peaceful transition of power. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

Afghan security officials stand guard at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 August 2021. The Taliban have reached the outskirts of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, where the Afghan government reported there have been shots heard, although the insurgents said they will not enter the city by force and are negotiating a peaceful transition of power. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Helicopters are landing at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound amid the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

This picture taken from the top of a hillside shows a general view of the Kabul city on August 15, 2021. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

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