The human cost is accumulating with the withdrawal of US and British troops
The fears held by many Afghans since Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all US troops by September have been not only realised but surpassed. Many anticipated steady gains by the Taliban, but the speed and scale of their escalating advance has stunned observers. On Friday they captured the city of Zaranj in Nimruz, the first provincial capital they have taken. The prospect of full Taliban rule – almost two decades after they were toppled by the US-led invasion – or a devastating all-out civil war on the scale of the 1990s looms ever larger.
Record numbers of civilians have been killed and injured since 1 May, a United Nations report warned last week, and the toll could intensify as fighting spills from rural areas into towns and cities, which some hope can be better defended. Some had argued that a newer, less extreme Taliban might have evolved – placing faith in the statements of their representatives in Doha. But Human Rights Watch says that their forces are summarily executing detained soldiers, police and civilians suspected of ties to the Afghan government. In areas under Taliban control, girls are banned from school once more.