Afghans fear Taliban return after Americans leave

Special Envoy in Kabul (Afghanistan)

"We are soon on our own ... The countdown has started!"

Driving his cab in Kabul, Ahmad lets out a nervous laugh. The American president has just announced the final withdrawal of his troops by September 11. His NATO allies followed suit. Soon there will be no more foreign soldiers in Afghanistan. This speech surprised many Afghans, who thought the Biden administration would reverse the withdrawal policy of its predecessors. Two days before, in Kandahar, a member of the provincial council predicted that

"the Americans are not going to leave: they know that by putting an end to their war, they will give rise to a catastrophe: the capture of the country by the Taliban".

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Because for many, the departure of foreign troops inevitably means the return to power of the Taliban.

"The Taliban have already seized many localities, including on the outskirts of provincial capitals"

, notes Ali Mohammed Sabawoon,

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