In Afghanistan, the siege of Kabul has begun – The HuffPost

AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s lightning advance continues, and at full speed. This Sunday, August 15, after a night marked by a general power cut in Kabul, the ballet of Western helicopters beginning the evacuation of their nationals and allies from Afghanistan, and even fights closer and closer to the capital, the siege of the city has begun.

The Taliban fighters were however ordered to remain at the gates of Kabul and not to start fighting in the capital of Afghanistan, announced Sunday one of their spokesman, even if insurgent fighters were seen by residents in remote suburbs.

“The Islamic Emirate orders all its forces to wait at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said on twitter. “There are armed Taliban fighters in our neighborhood, but there is no fighting,” a resident of a suburb east of the capital told AFP.

The AP news agency adds, after receiving a statement from the Taliban, that the latter do not intend to take Kabul by force. The insurgents explain in particular that in view of the density of civilian population in the capital, they refuse to make collateral victims in their fight against the Afghan government.

For its part, the government tried to reassure residents, assuring in a press release that “the situation is under control”.

“There were sporadic exchanges of fire in Kabul, but the town was not attacked,” the statement said. “The country’s security and defense forces are working with their international partners to ensure the safety of the city. The situation is under control. ”

According to the international press, in particular the BBC and Reuters, the Taliban fighters who began to enter the suburbs of Kabul did not meet much resistance, and it was only the instructions of their leaders that pushed them not to progress further.

According to an Afghan elected official interviewed by the BBC and images of the streets of the capital shared on social networks, residents are now seeking to leave Kabul at all costs, which is causing major traffic jams in the streets of the city. “I can’t go anywhere,” said MP Farzana Kochai to our British colleagues. “The planes are full and there is no room left on the flights to leave the city to a neighboring country, India or another …”

She also describes a situation that is terribly complicated for women everywhere in the country where the Taliban have taken control. “It’s even worse than we expected,” said the elected, referring to a ban on going to work or school. “Are women going to be jailed at home? Is that what awaits us? ”

In a statement released this Sunday, the Taliban ask the Afghans not to leave the country. They say they hope that the entire population, “from all walks of life, can envision a future in an Islamic system, with a responsible government at the service of all”.

See also on the HuffPost: In Kabul, attacks near a girls’ school kill 50