The Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan moved closer to Kabul with the seizure of Ghazni, a city about 150 kilometers from the capital. Here is the latest:
Aug. 13 – Abdullah Abdullah returned Friday from Doha, Qatar, with a proposal for a political deal, rumored to involve a cease-fire, between President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban, according to a former Ghani spokesperson. Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, is to return to Doha by Saturday to discuss Ghani’s decision with the Taliban.
Aug. 13 – Canada announced it is accepting 20,000 Afghan refugees, with the first planeload arriving in Toronto Friday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Aug. 13 – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO allies met in the North Atlantic Council to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. In a statement, he said that “NATO will maintain our diplomatic presence in Kabul and continue to adjust as necessary” and that NATO’s “aim remains to support the Afghan government & security forces as much as possible.”
Aug. 12 – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to inform him the U.S. “is reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation and will accelerate the tempo of Special Immigration Visa flights.” A State Department readout said Blinken and Austin emphasized that the U.S. “remains invested in the security and stability of Afghanistan in the face of violence by the Taliban.”
Aug. 12 – The U.S. announced the deployment of 3,000 troops to Kabul to help secure the U.S. Embassy and facilitate the evacuation of U.S. civilians and diplomatic personnel out of Afghanistan.
Aug. 12 – U.S. announced that about 3,500 to 4,000 troops with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are being sent to U.S. bases in Kuwait, where they will be on standby should conditions in Afghanistan deteriorate more quickly.
Aug. 12 – Britain on Thursday urged its citizens to “leave Afghanistan immediately.” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace later announced he was sending about 600 troops “to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, assist British nationals to leave the country and support the relocation of former Afghan staff.”
The following is a compilation of the provincial capitals the Taliban has captured or is threatening to seize. There are 34 provincial capitals in the country:
Captured provincial capitals:
Aug. 13 – Qalat, capital of the southern province of Zabul.
Aug. 13 – Pol-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province and the hometown of President Ghani.
Aug. 13 – Firuzkoh, the capital of central Ghor province.
Aug. 13 – Tarinkot: The capital of southern Uruzgan province.
Aug. 13 – Lashkar Gah: The capital of Helmand province in the south.
Aug. 12 – Kandahar: Afghanistan’s second-largest city and the capital of Kandahar province in the south.
Aug. 12 – Herat: Taliban captured Afghanistan’s third-largest city and capital of the province of the same name after two weeks of fighting.
Aug. 12 – Qala-e-Naw: The Taliban said in a formal statement that they had captured the capital of northwestern Badghis province.
Aug. 12 – Ghazni: A high-ranking security officer said the Taliban had seized the city, which is the capital of the province of the same name.
Aug. 11 – Faizabad: A provincial council member said the Islamic group had taken control of the capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan.
Aug. 10 – Farah – Taliban take control of the capital of the western province of the same name.
Aug. 10 – Pul-i-Khumri: Residents said the capital of the central province of Baghlan had fallen to the Taliban.
Aug. 9 – Aybak: Taliban fighters overrun the capital of the northern province of Samangan.
Aug. 8 – Taloqan: The northern capital of the Takhar province is seized by the Taliban.
Aug. 8 – Kunduz: The Taliban take control of the northern strategic city that serves as the entryway to the northern provinces and Central Asia and is the capital of Kunduz province.
Aug. 8 – Sar-e Pul: Taliban take control of the capital of the province of the same name.
Aug. 7 – Sheberghan: The Taliban say they have taken control of the northern province of Jawzjan.
Aug. 6 – Zaranj: The Taliban seize control of the city in Nimroz province in the south, the first provincial capital to fall after they escalated attacks on Afghan forces in May.
Source: Voice of America