WHAT’S GOING ON IN AFGHANISTAN?

Over the last week, Taliban forces have taken control of Afghanistan after capturing the last few democratic outposts across the country. On August 8th the Taliban rolled through the key eastern city of Jalalabad meeting little to no resistance before turning their attentions to the capital city of Kabul. The swift progression of the Taliban has been a total disappointment for the people of Afghanistan, after the two-decade-long program which trained local forces to handle Taliban fighters without US intervention. By the evening of Sunday 15th of August, 20 years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the country and all its people are now frozen in fear as the Taliban successfully rise and recapture control once more.

TALIBAN SEIZE CAPITAL CITY OF KABUL
It took just one week for forces to reach the inner city of Kabul, sending Afghan President Ahraf Ghani into hiding, leaving the country before “invoking further bloodshed”. It is not yet known where he has fled to or even if he made it out of the country before being captured. Taliban forces arrived at the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday morning sending local residents into hysteria as they rushed to board US and NATO evacuation efforts at the city’s main airport. Within only a few hours, Taliban units were rolling through the capital and began capturing key emblematic sites of the previous regime’s power. Taliban forces entered the Presidential Palace by mid-afternoon whilst waiting to negotiate terms with a number of former Afghan officials including former president Hamid Karzai.

By 6 pm Sunday evening, The Taliban had seized all police stations and governing infrastructure throughout the country, bringing the Western occupation of Afghanistan to a chilling and inhumane close. With only a small window to evacuate international residence, aid workers, soldiers and locals looking for refuge all attentions turn to Kabul airport were scenes of unbridled panic and terror unfolded. 

CONCERN FOR LOCAL WOMEN
On the streets, shots could be heard ringing off from all around the city as locals and Taliban forces engaged despite the Taliban issuing a statement stating, “…members have been ordered not to harm civilians or enter individual homes. Our forces are entering Kabul city with all caution”. A report by Vice Media shows that pictures and paintings of women across the city are being covered up and defaced, raising serious worries about the repercussions of the insurgency for women’s rights across the country.  

Before the US invaded in 2001 when the country was previously controlled by the Taliban, women were the target of some of the regime’s most oppressive and barbaric legislation including the banning of women from leaving their home without a male companion or full Burqa. Despite a statement by Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen that read, “They should not be scared, Their right to education and work is there. We have a commitment to that”, little is yet known about the group’s desire to revert to the repressive system of governance it favoured in 2001. 

SCENES OF PANIC FROM KABUL AIRPORT
Horrifying footage of thousands of Kabul residents swarming US Military Aircraft as they attempt to take off has been circulating social media as locals try to escape Taliban rule. The footage below published by the BBC shows children being thrust onto the side of the craft before bodies can be seen falling from the plane as it takes to the air. The haunting imagery coming out of Kabul is a hallowed testament to the rushed and carless evacuation plan that has left local residents to fend for themselves. 

US forces shot dead two armed men as thousands of uncleared locals attempted to force their way onto any active aircraft in fear of Taliban persecution. An image released by the US air force showed over 650 pre-approved Afghan citizens crammed inside a C17 Aircraft, far more than the plane’s max capitals. However military members decided to take off in a display of compassion as they refused to make them leave.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The next few weeks will tell us a lot about the future of the Afghan state and the safety of its citizens. However, we cannot just stand on the sidelines and hope that things will not regress back to the levels of humanitarian suffering that existed in Afghanistan last time the Taliban ruled. Get involved and help where you can with any of the below charities and NGO’s. Any amount of relief will go a long way in aiding the fallout of last weeks events.

CHOOSE LOVE: REFUGEE RELIEF 
WOMEN FOR REFUGEE WOMEN 
AFGHANAID.ORG.UK
MUSLIM HANDS
WOMEN FOR AFGHAN WOMEN

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