08/13/2021 7:17 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/13/2021 7:28 AM
The Taliban on Friday captured
three other
provincial
capitals
in southern Afghanistan, including Helmand, the scene of some of the most intense fighting in the past two decades, as they advance with a lightning offensive that
is gradually encircling the capital, Kabu
l .
The fall of the capital of Helmand comes after years of work and bloodshed between the forces of the United States, Great Britain and NATO allies.
Hundreds of foreign soldiers
perished there during the nearly two decades of war.
Insurgents have seized more than a dozen regional capitals in recent days and now control more than two-thirds of the country within weeks of the United States
completing the total withdrawal of its troops.
Attaullah Afghan, the head of the Helmand provincial council, said the capital,
Lashkar Gah
, fell to the Taliban after heavy fighting and insurgents raised their flag over government facilities.
The three kisses of the national army on the outskirts remain under the command of Kabul, he added.
Afghan army flees
Atta Jan Haqbayan, head of the Zabul provincial council, said that his capital,
Qalat
, is now controlled by the Taliban and that the authorities are in a nearby military camp
getting ready to leave.
Two lawmakers from the southern Uruzgan region said local authorities
surrendered their capital, Tirin Kot,
in the face of the rapid advance of the Taliban offensive.
Bismillah Jan Mohammad and Qudratullah Rahimi confirmed what happened on Friday, and Mohammad explained that the governor was heading to the airport to depart for Kabul.
Kandahar
The latest advances came hours after
the capture of Afghanistan's second and third largest cities
.
The taking of Kandahar and Herat is, to date, the greatest achievement of the swift insurgent campaign.
Taliban gather in the main square of Kandahar, having captured her.
Photo: EFE
Although Kabul
is not directly threatened,
the losses and recurring battles everywhere further strengthen the power of the resurgent Taliban.
USA evacuates its embassy
With security deteriorating rapidly, the United States plans to send
3,000 soldiers to help evacuate staff from their embassy in Kabul.
For its part, Britain announced that around 600 soldiers will be deployed for a short time to support
British citizens leaving the country,
and Canada will send special forces to help evacuate its embassy.
The population, in panic
Thousands of Afghans
have fled their homes
for fear that the Taliban will re-impose a brutal and repressive government that will almost completely eliminate women's rights and carry out public executions.
Peace talks in Qatar remain stalled although diplomats continue to meet.
The offensive has caused at least
250,000 displaced people
since its start in May, and 80% of them are women and children, warned the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
This exodus adds to the 150,000 who already had to leave their homes between January and May, and brings the total of internally displaced persons in the Central Asian country
to 3.3 million
, according to figures provided at a press conference by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo.
"We demand an immediate end to the attacks on cities, we
urge a political agreement
and we warn that a government imposed by force will be a pariah stadium," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the Washington representative in the dialogue.
Fazel Haq Ehsan, head of the provincial council for the western province of Ghor, said on Friday that the Taliban entered its capital, Feroz Koh, and there was active fighting within the city.
The insurgent group claimed to have taken Qala-e Naw, the capital of the Badghis region, also in the west of the country, but there was no official confirmation.
80 km from Kabul
Insurgents are also advancing in Logar province,
just south of Kabul,
where they claim to have seized the capital's Puli-e Alim police station, as well as a nearby prison.
The city is
about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Kabul.
The latest assessment of US military intelligence indicates that Kabul could be under siege by insurgents
within 30 days
and that, if current trends continue, the Taliban could take full control of the country
in a few months.
The Afghan government could be forced
to retreat to defend the capital
and some other cities in the coming days if the Taliban keep up their pace.
The onslaught represents
an impressive collapse of Afghan forces
after the United States spent nearly two decades and $ 830 billion trying to establish functional status after toppling the Taliban in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
The fighters travel
aboard US-made Humvees
with M-16 rifles stolen from Afghan forces slung over their shoulders.
Afghanistan's security forces and government have not responded to repeated questions from the press, instead issuing video communications
downplaying the insurgent advance.
Although diplomats met in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, the success of the insurgent offensive raises questions about whether the Taliban will ever return to the stalled dialogue with the Kabul government.
Instead, they could seize power by force, or the country could
plunge into a factional struggle
as occurred after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
Associated Press and EFE
ap
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