The rapid advance of the Taliban continues in Afghanistan.
The major cities of the country are falling one by one.
On Friday, they seized Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province in the south of the country, after giving 48 hours to the army and political and administrative officials to evacuate the city, AFP learned. from a safe source.
The Taliban also took without resistance, this Friday morning, Chaghcharan, capital of the province of Ghor, in the center of the country, told AFP the spokesman of the governor, Zalmai Karimi.
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The Taliban had already claimed, overnight, the capture of Kandahar (south), the second largest city in the country.
They had also seized this Thursday of Herat (west), the third Afghan city, and had approached up to 150 km from Kabul, also taking Ghazni, southwest of the capital.
According to a security source, Qala-e-Naw, capital of Badghis province, neighboring Herat, also fell into the hands of the Taliban.
Three big cities still under government control
In eight days, during this lightning advance, they seized nearly half of the Afghan provincial capitals (13 out of 34).
The Taliban now control most of the north, west and south of the country.
Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif (north) and Jalalabad (east) are the only three major cities still under government control.
After lengthy siege, Lashkar Gah is taken by the Taliban - https://t.co/pw4NGIFrCj pic.twitter.com/N0nKftng4j
- Long War Journal (@LongWarJournal) August 13, 2021
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has so far rejected calls for the formation of an unelected provisional government including the Taliban.
But faced with their rapid advance, the authorities have offered them in disaster "to share power in exchange for an end to the violence", according to a government negotiator at the Doha talks, who requested anonymity.
The fighting, which punctuates the whole country, has a dramatic impact on the civilian population.
At least 183 people, including children, have been killed in a month alone in Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz.
Meanwhile, many have flocked to Kabul in recent days.
They now try to survive in parks or on vacant lots, in the most complete destitution.
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The Taliban launched their offensive in May, with the start of the final withdrawal of US and foreign troops, which must be completed by August 31.
They first seized large rural areas without encountering much resistance.
But their progress has accelerated dramatically in recent days, several urban centers falling into their hands, often without offering, again, much resistance.
Due to the "acceleration" of events, Washington announced on the night of Thursday to Friday, the deployment of 3,000 troops at Kabul international airport, to help evacuate diplomats and American nationals. London announced the dispatch of 600 soldiers to do the same.