The first batches of US forces responsible for evacuating diplomatic missions and other foreign staff from Afghanistan have arrived at Kabul airport as other countries race to evacuate their workers and citizens from the country amid rapid progress by the Taliban in the conflict with government forces.
Last Friday, Taliban forces took control of Bul Alam, the capital of Loghar province, which is only 80 km from the country's capital
And warned the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, that things are starting to get out of control, with dire consequences for civilians.
So far, more than 250,000 people have been forced from their homes due to the conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan army.
The Taliban's advance towards the capital coincides with the withdrawal of US forces after twenty years of military operations carried out by the US army there. The fighting between the two sides raised concerns that the progress made on human rights in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban could unravel.
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Life under the Taliban in the 1990s included forced women to wear the niqab, restrictions on the education of girls over the age of 10, and brutal punishments, including public executions.
The Taliban also took control of Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan, also last Friday, and overran the neighboring city of Lashkar Gah as well as the city of Herat in the west. By this, the movement has imposed its control over about a third of the state capitals in the country.
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John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, called the Taliban advance "deeply concerning", but played down the reported imminent threat to Kabul from the group.
Most of the troops dispatched to evacuate the US diplomatic mission from Afghanistan, numbering 3,000, will arrive in Kabul by the end of this week. The United States plans to fly thousands of people a day out of Kabul.
And the latest intelligence assessment of the situation suggests that Taliban fighters may reach the capital, Kabul, within 30 days.
The US Embassy in Kabul informed its staff of the possibility of providing an incinerator and other tools to destroy sensitive materials, including documents and equipment such as flags that could be used for propaganda.
War in Afghanistan: Taliban control the capitals of three northern Afghan provinces within 24 hours
The Taliban claim to have seized two districts north of the Afghan capital, and the government is preparing an attack to restore a crossing with Iran
The United Kingdom - which has sent 600 of its troops to evacuate its citizens and former Afghan staff - said it would reduce its diplomatic representation in Afghanistan to a minimum, which was also confirmed by Germany.
Denmark and Norway also closed their embassies in Kabul.
Antonio Guterres called on the Taliban to end the fighting and urged the international community to stress that seizing power by military force is unacceptable.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations said: "Every day, many victims of the conflict are killed, including women and children. The continuation of the civil conflict means the continuation of more massacres, the victims of which are the civilians who pay the highest price for it."
He warned that supplies of food and medicine are dwindling while basic infrastructure such as schools and health care clinics have been destroyed by the conflict. The United Nations appealed to neighboring countries surrounding Afghanistan to open their borders and allow people to reach safe areas.
About 1,000 people have been killed by the conflict in Afghanistan in the past month alone, according to United Nations reports.
Camps have been set up in the forests around the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, while those seeking safety have slept on the streets of the capital over the past few days.
The number of children displaced by this conflict and who fled to the capital, Kabul, reached 72,000, according to statistics from Save the Children.