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View of Kabul (archive image)
Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP
This article will be updated continuously.
Pakistan closes important border crossing
11:38 am:
The Taliban's military successes are also preoccupying neighboring Pakistan.
According to the Home Office, the country has now closed the important Torkham border crossing.
On the Afghan side, the Taliban have captured the border post.
They control all of the major border crossings that lead out of Afghanistan.
The Taliban has apparently already penetrated far into the west and east of Kabul
11:28 am:
According to reports from security experts from western embassies in Kabul, the Taliban had already entered police district 5 in the west of the city and police district 12 on the eastern outskirts.
Helicopters circling over US emergency
11:25 am
: Large, twin-rotor Chinook helicopters that can take several dozen passengers can be seen above the huge compound of the US embassy in the center.
Criticism of Joe Biden is increasing.
Trump: "Do you miss me already?"
04/11:
In the USA, in view of the rapid conquest of the radical Islamic Taliban in Afghanistan, criticism of President Joe Biden is growing. Not only the opposition Republicans accuse the president of a catastrophic policy in Afghanistan - the liberal media such as the Washington Post have also blamed heavily. Experts warn that Afghanistan could become an eyesore on Biden's political legacy.
The pace at which the Taliban have subjugated cities and provinces in Afghanistan over the past few weeks and have now advanced as far as Kabul has taken the United States off guard. This is underscored by the videos that the US media recently used to denounce Washington’s policy on Afghanistan: Here current pictures of Taliban flags in the central squares of the provincial capitals, there the US President, who said just a few weeks ago: “That the Taliban do everything overrun and control the whole country is extremely unlikely. "
The opposite is now the case: it is highly unlikely that the Afghan army will be able to defend its last bastion, the capital Kabul, in the long term.
Three trillion dollars that flowed from the USA to Afghanistan in the past 20 years, almost 2500 fallen US soldiers - they were in vain from the point of view of critics.
The majority leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, spoke of an "avoidable disaster" in Afghanistan.
Ex-US President Donald Trump, whose agreement with the Taliban concluded in February 2020, initiated the international withdrawal of troops in the first place, also spoke up.
Biden had caused "tragic chaos", explained Trump and added in capital letters: "Do you miss me already?"
Biden himself has so far shown no remorse for his decision to withdraw.
The President was mostly unmoved when reporters asked about the fate of the Afghans in the past few days.
The Afghans now have to "fight for themselves".
The Taliban allegedly want to negotiate for a peaceful surrender of Kabul
10:43:
The Taliban
say they
are in talks with the Afghan government about a peaceful surrender of the capital Kabul.
There will be no vengeance, says a Taliban spokesman.
All who have served in the government or in the military will be forgiven.
Civilians don't have to leave the country out of fear.
Since Kabul is a large and densely populated city, the Taliban did not intend to enter the city by force or war, it said.
How credible this is initially remained unclear: The declaration was published during unconfirmed reports on social media that Taliban fighters had already penetrated the city.
Chaotic scenes took place in Kabul.
There was a shooting in front of a bank, a resident of the city said.
In the meantime there are increasing reports that the Taliban are indeed invading the city, but encountering little resistance there.
Taliban invade Kabul
9.42 am:
According to the Interior Ministry, the Taliban have begun to invade the capital Kabul from all sides.
Gunshots could be heard all around.
The Afghan Presidential Office announced on Twitter that the security forces had the situation under control.
According to SPIEGEL information, the fighters are currently still in the outskirts, but an advance into the city should only be a matter of time.
cgu / dpa / AFP / Reuters / AP