As the government has now effectively lost control of most of the country, The US and Britain have sent troops to evacuate their nationals in Afghanistan.
The United States and Britain ordered the deployment Friday of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals, as the Taliban overran more key regional cities in an offensive that has left the capital dangerously exposed.
The orders came as the Taliban took control of Kandahar, the nation’s second-biggest city in the insurgency’s heartland, leaving only Kabul and pockets of other territory in government hands.
They were also closer to taking Logar province, at the gates of Kabul, with a Taliban spokesman saying insurgents had captured the police headquarters and city jail in the capital, Pul-e-Alam.
Earlier Friday, officials and residents in Kandahar told AFP that government forces had withdrawn en masse to a military facility outside the southern city.
“Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs’ Square,” a Taliban spokesman tweeted, referring to a city landmark.
Hours later, the Taliban said they had also taken control of Lashkar Gah, the capital of neighbouring Helmand province.
A security source confirmed the fall of the city, telling AFP that the Afghan military and government officials had evacuated Lashkar Gah after striking a local ceasefire deal with the militants.
The government has now effectively lost control of most of the country, following an eight-day blitz into urban centres by the Taliban that has also stunned Kabul’s American backers.
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