bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

On Tuesday, August 31, the United States plans to withdraw its last troops out of Afghanistan. Here are the main developments since the Taliban seized Kabul, taking power again in Afghanistan after two decades of war.
Lightning takeover
On August 15, Taliban fighters appear on the edge of Kabul after a lightning offensive launched in May as US and Nato troops began to withdraw.
In the space of 10 days, they seized city after city across the country with little or no resistance.
Television images show the Taliban taking the presidential palace.
President Ashraf Ghani flees the country and says on Facebook that the “Taliban have won” and that he left to avoid a “flood of bloodshed”.
Rockets fly in Kabul as US evacuations wind down
Airport chaos
Frightened people besiege Kabul airport, the only exit route from the country. Chaos breaks out on the tarmac as people try to rush aircraft.
All military and civilian flights are halted, before resuming Monday evening.
‘Terrorism sanctuary’ fears
China becomes the first country to say it is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with the Taliban.
It later accuses Washington of “leaving an awful mess”.
The UN Security Council says the country must not become a breeding ground for terrorism.
Under growing criticism, President Joe Biden insists he has no regrets and emphasises that US troops cannot defend a nation whose leaders “gave up and fled”.


Go back to work 
The Taliban tell civil servants in Kabul to resume their duties “without any fear”. Some shops reopen and evacuation flights from the city’s airport restart.
‘Women can work’
At their first news conference since seizing power, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the Taliban will let “women work in accordance with the principles of Islam”.
Girls return to school in Taliban-held Herat.
EU ‘must talk’ to Taliban 
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the bloc will have to talk to the Taliban.
ICC: Possible violations
Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, says reported crimes during the Taliban advance may amount to violations of international law.
Stay or go? The tough choices for Chinese businesspeople in Afghanistan
‘Collapse’ of Afghanistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on the global community to prevent the “collapse” of Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.
Nato says its allies have deployed enough planes to airlift foreign nationals and their Afghan colleagues from Kabul but ground access to the airport is a “big challenge”.
Taliban leader returns 
Within hours of Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar returning to Afghanistan, the group says it will be “different” this time. It will pardon its enemies and women will not have to wear the all-enveloping burka.
‘Difficult’ airlift
Biden says he cannot guarantee the final outcome of the emergency evacuation from Kabul’s airport, calling it one of the most “difficult” airlift operations ever.
The US tells its citizens to avoid travelling to the airport because of “potential security threats” near its gates.
Pressure builds on Biden to extend his August 31 deadline to complete the rescue missions, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying “it’s mathematically impossible” to complete the evacuations by that date.

Seven deaths 
Britain’s defence ministry says that seven Afghans died in crowds in Kabul, without giving the circumstances. The previous day Sky News aired footage of at least three bodies outside the airport.
Taliban blames US
The Taliban blames the US for the dramatic scenes at Kabul airport, an official saying that “there is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport”.
Resistance? 
There have since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjsher Valley, north of Kabul.
The National Resistance Front is prepared for a “long-term conflict” but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, the movement’s spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary says.
Why Afghanistan is not the ‘Graveyard of Empires’
Taliban fighters
Hundreds of Taliban fighters are heading to the Panjsher valley “to control it, after local state officials refused to hand it over peacefully”, the group wrote on its Arabic Twitter account.
‘Red line’
On the 23rd, the Taliban describe the August 31 deadline for evacuations as a “red line”.
On the 24th, Biden says he has decided to stick to his August 31 deadline to pull American forces out of Afghanistan, after talks with G7 counterparts.
On the 25th, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Taliban will allow Americans and at-risk Afghans to leave after August 31.
Suicide bombing
A suicide bomb on August 26 claimed by Islamic State rips through crowds outside Kabul airport, killing scores of civilians as well as 13 US service members.
The following day, Britain, France and Spain become among the latest countries to end their evacuations from Kabul.
More than 100,000 people have been flown out of the country since August 14, according to the US government.


Pakistan’s forever war and the politics of exhaustion

Blasts in Kabul as Afghan government says responding to Pakistan attacks

Pakistan-Taliban showdown risks becoming a protracted war of attrition

China seeks to mediate after Pakistan declares ‘open war’ on Afghanistan

Afghanistan after the US withdrawal

Afghanistan timeline: America’s last days

Taliban commando fighters in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province. Photo: AP

President Joe Biden watches as a carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of a Marine, one of 13 who died in a Kabul attack on August 26. Photo: AP

Why Afghanistan is not the ‘Graveyard of Empires’

British soldiers disembark a RAF Voyager aircraft after landing at Brize Norton, Britain, following their return from Kabul. Photo: PA Wire/dpa

A man carries bread on a wheelbarrow at a market in downtown of Kabul on August 28, 2021, following the Taliban's stunning military takeover of Afghanistan. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

In this image provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a Marine with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command gives a high five to a child at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz).

Stay or go? The tough choices for Chinese businesspeople in Afghanistan

The rules of the game have changed for businesspeople in Afghanistan, says one Chinese trader. Photo: Weibo

Yu Yong was wondering what to do next for his businesses in Afghanistan following the takeover of Taliban.ÊYu, who is trading gemstones, medical materials and stationeries between China and Afghanistan, has been doing business for over four years, and is planning to stay in the Central Asian nation for long - as one of the 15 remaining Chinese businessmen there.But his plan may need to change now with the insurgent group taking over Kabul on August 15, and declared the restoration of an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, amid the withdrawal of American troops. That resulted in chaos sweeping the nation, with many trying to flee for fearing that the Taliban would impose Sharia law as it did 20 years ago and neighbouring countries worrying about possible risk of terrorism spillover.  Photo:Weibo

News

World

Russia & Central Asia


Joe Biden’s deadline for ending the US evacuation from Afghanistan is on Tuesday
Events over the past month have created a chaotic situation for America’s exit



On Tuesday, August 31, the United States plans to withdraw its last troops out of Afghanistan, if all goes to schedule.


Afghanistan

Afghanistan: All stories

China-Afghanistan relations

Afghanistan timeline: America’s last days

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Joe Biden’s deadline for ending the US evacuation from Afghanistan is on Tuesday Events over the past month have created a chaotic situation for America’s exit

Lightning takeover

Airport chaos

Joe Biden’s deadline for ending the US evacuation from Afghanistan is on Tuesday

Events over the past month have created a chaotic situation for America’s exit