Kabul, Aug. 15, LETA – AP. Taliban militants have entered the three suburbs of the Afghan capital, Kabul, without fighting on Sunday, three Afghan officials who wished to remain anonymous told the AP news agency.
Shortly afterwards, a Taliban spokesman released a statement on Twitter promising not to seize the capital by force, saying Taliban militants had been ordered to remain on the outskirts of Kabul.
“No one’s life, property or dignity will be harmed and the lives of Kabul citizens will not be in danger,” the statement said.
Shooting is heard in some places in the city, military helicopters land near the US Embassy. The US State Department has not yet commented on what is happening, but two US military personnel, without disclosing their names, have indicated that diplomats at the embassy are in a hurry to destroy important documents.
Afghan government authorities have forced workers to go home.
The Taliban reportedly took control of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday morning, near an important border post on the Pakistani border, with the blockade of Kabul to the east.
In Taliban, the Taliban entered without fighting, according to residents and officials. The decision was not taken in opposition to prevent civilian casualties.
Hosta, the provincial capital of the same name, was reportedly taken over by the Taliban on Sunday, while the Taliban took over the largest city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Balha province, Mazar-e-Sharif, on Saturday.
Since last week, the Taliban have taken control of most of the country’s territory, defeating Afghan security forces, dragging them to their side or forcing them to flee, despite some US aviation support.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the fighting, and in recent days refugees have flooded Kabul, where they are setting up settlements in parks and other public places.
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