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The Taliban armed group has captured the provincial capitals, Qalat, Terenkot, Pul-e-Alam, Feruz Koh, Qal-e-Naw and Lashkar Gah, hours after capturing Herat and Kandahar cities.
It so far has control over 18 provincial capitals across Afghanistan.
In his first appeal to the group, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Taliban to immediately halt its offensive and negotiate “in good faith” to avert a prolonged civil war.
“This is the moment to halt the offensive. This is the moment to start serious negotiation. This is the moment to avoid a prolonged civil war or the isolation of Afghanistan,” Guterres said at a press conference.
Afghanistan is spinning out of control,” Guterres said. “Continued urban conflict will mean continued carnage – with civilians paying the highest price.”
Meanwhile the US and European countries are evacuating their embassy staff as the Taliban inches closer to the country’s capital, Kabul.
Here were the updates from Friday:
Canada plans to resettle more than 20,000 vulnerable Afghans including women leaders, human rights workers and reporters to protect them from Taliban reprisals, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino has said.
The effort is in addition to an earlier initiative to welcome thousands of Afghans who worked for the Canadian government, such as interpreters, embassy workers and their families, he told a news conference.
Canada’s new plan would focus on those who are particularly vulnerable, including women leaders, human rights defenders, reporters, persecuted religious minorities and members of the gay and lesbian community, he said.
The US hopes to see more resistance from the Afghan military against the Taliban, the Pentagon says, stressing that government forces in Afghanistan have the upper hand on paper despite their recent losses.
Department of Defence spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Afghan forces have the tools to push against the ongoing fierce Taliban offensive.
“We want to see the will and the political leadership, the military leadership that’s required in the field. We still want to see that, and we hope to see that,” Kirby told reporters.
Residents in Herat and Kandahar say they cannot believe how quickly both cities fell after the Taliban’s weeks-long effort to take two of Afghanistan’s largest cities.
“They literally sold us out, there was no government resistance,” one female resident of Kandahar told Al Jazeera, fighting back tears late on Thursday evening.
“I never imagined that Kandahar would be taken so easily,” she said echoing a sentiment made by Afghans across the country.
