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

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
Troops kill scores of terrorists, recover arms, motorcycles in Sokoto
Residents of Maikujeru and surrounding communities have expressed relief over the military intervention.

States
2027: Group cautions Gombe youths against electoral violence
Ibrahim Yusuf, chairman of the Gombe Network of Civil Society Organisations, said violence portends dire consequences for the state before, during and after the elections.

States
Church donates three classrooms to Nasarawa govt
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constructed and equipped three classrooms in the Luvu Madaki Community of Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State.

States
Joint security forces arrest nine suspects, recover firearms in Anambra
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, Nnanna Ama, said the suspects and the recovered items have been taken into custody for questioning and further investigation.

World
Croatia eases African swine fever restrictions as outbreak situation improves
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries David Vlajcic said no new outbreaks had been detected among domestic pigs since August 4.

States
Ondo govt recruits over 6000 workers in 18 months
Chief press secretary to the governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said over 6,000 recruits were absorbed into education, healthcare, security and agriculture to address manpower shortages.






