The Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan is moving quickly now that the foreign forces are gone. The group captured three regional capitals in three days.
The Taliban have taken control of the capital of Sar-e-Pul province in the north of the country. They occupied the governor’s seat and the police headquarters. The government is hiding in an army building that is also exposed to mortar shells.
On Saturday, the Taliban took control of Sheberghan, the capital of Jawzjan province in the north of the country. On Friday, the fundamentalist organization succeeded for the first time in seizing a regional capital, specifically Zaranj in the southwest of the country. Heavy fighting is also taking place in the center of the large city of Kunduz this weekend.
Since the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan in May, the fundamentalist Taliban movement has risen. The group has gained a lot of ground in recent months.
refugee flow
The United Kingdom on Saturday called on all Britons to leave Afghanistan immediately due to the deteriorating security situation caused by the advance of the Islamist Taliban movement. “All British nationals have been advised to leave the country immediately by commercial transport,” the Foreign Office said.
The fear is that the Taliban’s advance will lead to a new influx of refugees, first to Turkey, and then to Europe as well. Within the European Union, with the 2015 refugee crisis in mind, developments are being watched with concern.
