Talibans take over Kabul as Afghan president steps down

Taliban fighters entered the city of Kabul on Sunday, demanding the unconditional surrender of the central government.
Al Arabiya reports that Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani will abdicate in the next few hours after the Taliban came into the city limits.
Though the extremist group has said that it intends to take the city peacefully without harming civilians, several reports reveal that citizens and foreigners are fleeing the city, from people queuing at ATMs to withdraw money to helicopters evacuating staff from the U.S. Embassy.
An Afghan MP in Kabul, Farzana Kochai, told BBC that there were not many routes left to escape, as flights from the country were all filled.
“I don’t know, they can’t go anywhere, there’s nowhere left. The aircraft may be full and the flights from Kabul today, I checked with some friends who are going there, out of Kabul, like to India or any other neighboring countries,” Mr Kochai said.
The extremist group has made major advances across Afghanistan as the U.S. and other countries started withdrawing their troops from the country. The original date for the full withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was September 11, to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The group has taken over most of southern, northern and western Afghanistan. Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and the biggest city in the north, fell to the Taliban on Saturday, as regional leaders and security forces abandoned the city fleeing to Uzbekistan for safety.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States
Police warn youths against blocking Kebbi-Sokoto highway
Mr Usman said the latest blockade disrupted vehicular movement for about three hours.

Africa
U.S. warns citizens travelling to South Africa over crime, terrorism, unrest
The acting national police commissioner said at least 10 vehicles were burnt in Johannesburg and 14 in Durban.

Economy
Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy depends on homegrown innovation, market access: NBTI DG
The DG said sustainable national prosperity cannot be achieved through government expenditure or natural resources alone.

NationWide
NBET begins N729 billion legacy debt payments to GenCos
Mr Odeyemi described the development as a significant milestone in implementing the debt reduction programme.

Africa
Anti-foreigner protests force South Africa to withdraw asylum seekers applicationsÂ
The protests erupted over a Constitutional Court ruling easing access to asylum.

Heading 2
2028 Olympics: Super Falcons defeat Comoros 2-0 in first leg
The Nigerian team finally opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a tap-in by Michelle Alozie.





