Five killed at Kabul airport according to reports; Type of rule and the form of regime will be clear soon, says spokesperson for Taliban; Ashraf Ghani leaves the country‘This is not Saigon’: Blinken defends US mission in AfghanistanTimeline: the Taliba…
The Taliban have retaken Afghanistan – this time, how will they rule it? | Antonio Giustozzi
The group’s hardline beliefs are unchanged, but coalition partners and regional powers may be moderating influencesThe Taliban agreed on Saturday not to enter Kabul city for now and to wait for the evacuation of western diplomats and troops, but the Af…
Some Afghan allies will be left behind, UK defence secretary concedes
Ben Wallace says it is a ‘really deep regret’ that all Afghans eligible to come to UK will not be extractedAfghanistan live news: desperate crowds at Kabul airportThe UK defence secretary has admitted “some people will not get back” as Britain tries to…
‘We see silence filled with fear’: female Afghan journalists plead for help
Women in media in Kabul tell of trying to destroy traces of their identity as they brace for Taliban retributionWhen president Ashraf Ghani slipped out of Afghanistan with no warning, he took with him any glimpse of hope left for the nation’s women – e…
Australians with family in Afghanistan tell of despair, survivor guilt
The Afghan diaspora has been aghast watching the events in their home country unfold from afar, and talk of their fear, helplessness and disappointmentAustralians with family in Afghanistan have shared their despair and anger at the unfolding chaos in …
‘The US should be held accountable’: Guantánamo survivor on the war on terror’s failure
After 20 years during which he was routinely tortured, Mansoor Adayfi, who now lives in Serbia, asks: ‘What if that had been American boys?’When a shackled Mansoor Adayfi was lumped on to a heap of shivering, naked bodies in the pitch black, a hood ove…
Afghanistan will be seen as Joe Biden’s defeat. And it may come back to haunt him
The American public will not be in a forgiving mood if al-Qaida rises again following US withdrawal and the Taliban advanceWhat will it take for Joe Biden to admit he is disastrously wrong about Afghanistan? The US leader struck a defiant pose last wee…
The Observer view on the fall of Afghanistan | Observer editorial
The Taliban’s rapid advance is chilling but a united response can still avert catastropheThe fall of Afghanistan to fundamentalist Taliban forces is a disaster foretold. Although the capital, Kabul, remains in government hands, the scale and speed of t…
Afghanistan: US begins Kabul embassy evacuation as Taliban close in – live updates
US officials say diplomats are leaving Kabul embassy now, as Afghan officials say Jalalabad governor has surrendered to Taliban Report: last major Afghan city in the north falls to the Taliban 6.31am BST New York Times reporter Fahim Abed in Kabul: Bei…
“We had no capacity or experience with some of our tasks”
How America Failed Afghanistan. “We checked the box when it came to saying that we had trained our partners, spun a rosy narrative of progress, and perhaps prioritized the safety and well-being of our troops over the mission of buttressing partner capa…