Aug. 23, 2021, 6:05 p.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 6:05 p.m. ET
Members of the Taliban and their supporters attended a public event on Monday in Kabul put on by the group’s Preaching and Guidance Commission. At the event, the Taliban’s Minister of Culture and Information, Zabiullah Mujahid, addressed a crowd.
The event was an early demonstration of the central role religion will play under Taliban rule, and another move by the new regime to display its dominance since declaring an Islamic Emirate.
Separately, video footage from Monday showed a Taliban member speaking to a crowd in Kabul, delivering remarks that may similarly offer clues about how the group will try to persuade Afghans to back them in the days ahead.
transcript
Last night, this morning, until 4 p.m. today, the Taliban did not eat. They fought the Americans on empty stomachs. What’s wrong with all of you? We’re all Afghans, and so are you. Where is our pride? Where is our dignity? Where is our honor? Today, we are begging the Americans to take care of us and this is a huge shame. For me, it’s very embarrassing, I’m not sure about you all. [Inaudible] The Americans must leave Afghanistan. We will force them out. We will not allow them here. [Inaudible] I will fight the Americans as long as I’m alive. We defeated the Americans with old guns. This fight requires honor and faith. Thousands of Americans and their puppets are busy trying to keep Afghanistan secure. We don’t have any fear of them. Thousands of tanks … I am looking for one representative amongst you. We will not allow anyone to exploit Afghanistan’s wealth. No one can defeat our forces We will make sure of it.”
In his remarks, the Taliban member urges Afghans to unite — despite the group’s history of oppressive rule — even as thousands have gathered at the airport hoping to be evacuated. The man appeals to Afghans’ sense of national pride and paints Americans as enemy combatants.
Americans, the Taliban member says, “must leave” the country, or the Taliban, he says, will “force them out.”
Photos by Victor J. Blue for The New York Times. Text by Victor J. Blue, Sarah Kerr and Matt Stevens.
Aug. 23, 2021, 5:53 p.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 5:53 p.m. ET
transcript
Look at all the destroyed gear. It looks like — that fire right there was the radar for the C-RAM. It looks like they have set that on fire. People destroying hard drives down there at the end. The American flag here is the last one. Every flagpole here used to be a different flag of a different nation, part of the NATO group that was here supporting the efforts in Afghanistan. You see the American flag is the only one left. And that’s only going to be there for a few more hours.
Garbage bins overflowing with destroyed equipment. Smashed computer parts scattered across the ground. Diplomatic workers burning documents.
Videos and photos taken by several U.S. government contractors and posted to social media, and verified and analyzed by The New York Times, reveal the chaos as Americans rushed to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Kabul early last week as the Taliban swept into the city.
The takeover and the hurried U.S. departure made for a defining moment, capping nearly 20 years of war. But few images have emerged showing how the personnel inside the diplomatic compound quickly mobilized to leave — and leave behind as little as possible that might be of use to the Taliban.
One contractor who filmed the events as they unfolded compared it to the fall of Saigon. The contractor asked not to be identified for fear of losing his job. Many of the posts by contractors were later deleted.
A weapon system intended to protect the U.S. Embassy from incoming rockets, artillery and mortars, known as C-RAM, is seen burning in one of the videos. Another contractor, who asked for anonymity because he could lose his security clearance for talking to the news media, said the equipment was destroyed so the Taliban couldn’t use it.
Similarly, several armored vehicles were left behind in the embassy compound, which was verified by matching up multiple videos from contractors with satellite imagery. The vehicles were left inoperable, according to the contractor.
“Obviously, we don’t want to see any weapons or systems to fall into the hands of people that would use them in such a way to harm our interests or those of partners and allies,” John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said on Monday. “But I don’t have any policy solutions for you today about how we would or could address that going forward.”
It is unclear whether Taliban fighters have entered the embassy compound.
Aug. 23, 2021, 4:30 p.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 4:30 p.m. ET
The violence and chaos that erupted in Kabul in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover, spurring protests and a wave of people trying to flee the country, injured an untold number of Afghans. Some of them have wound up in a nearby hospital for treatment, like this one run by the nongovernmental organization EMERGENCY.
Many of the victims in the wards of this Kabul-area hospital had been shot, and were recovering from gunshot wounds.
Photos by Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times. Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 23, 2021, 3:33 p.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 3:33 p.m. ET
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
The area around the airport has been a flash point for violence and has become a symbol of the hasty effort to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan very rapidly.
That violence continued apace on Monday. A member of the Afghan security forces died in a firefight with unidentified attackers, according to the German military, which also said that three other members of the Afghan forces were wounded in the skirmish outside the airport’s North Gate.
Around the airport, groups of Afghans sat on the hardened ground, seemingly resigned, at least for the moment, to another day of waiting.
Video footage recorded Monday showed people continuing to mill about beneath a relentlessly hot sun. In the afternoon, boys were photographed selling cotton candy to Afghans gathered in a field outside the entrances to the military-controlled side of the airport.
From Sunday to Monday, U.S. military officials said they had transported just under 11,000 people to other countries. Commercial airlines have also started evacuating Americans and Afghan allies from bases in the Middle East at the request of federal officials.
Photos by Victor J. Blue for The New York Times. Video by Anadolu Agency. Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 23, 2021, 2:40 p.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 2:40 p.m. ET
Ahmad Sahel Arman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Ahmad Sahel Arman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Aamaj News Agency, via Reuters
Ahmad Sahel Arman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In the days since the Taliban seized control of Kabul, signs of resistance among Afghans have emerged in pockets north of the capital.
Afghan soldiers — sometimes with the aid of villagers — have mounted armed challenges to the Taliban and in some cases successfully driven militants out of districts, according to former Afghan officials. But even Afghans sympathetic to the effort have expressed deep doubts about its prospects to roll back Taliban control.
An analysis of satellite imagery by The New York Times confirmed a buildup of military equipment in Panjshir, which includes a strategic valley that two decades ago held out against the militants. By some estimates, thousands of Afghan soldiers fled to the province following the latest Taliban takeover.
Videos posted to social media showed a parade of cars and motorcycles waving the flag of the Northern Alliance — a military alliance of resistance groups — and several American-made military vehicles being driven north through the valley by Afghan security forces.
But one video circulating on Monday was confirmed to show fighters with a Taliban flag on a bridge over Panjshir River just outside of the province, as the militants say they are moving in on the resistance fighters there.
Photos by Afp – Getty Images and Reuters. Text by Haley Willis and Matt Stevens. Additional reporting by Christiaan Triebert.
Aug. 23, 2021, 10:51 a.m. ET
Aug. 23, 2021, 10:51 a.m. ET
U.S.-allied forces continued working on Monday at the airport in Kabul, which for days has been a chaotic and sometimes dangerous choke point for those wishing to flee Afghanistan.
British and Canadian soldiers stood guard near a canal as Afghans waited outside the airport, while some helped Afghans climb up on the wall of a canal.
The leaders of the Group of 7 nations are expected to hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation on the ground as violent clashes aggravate the already precarious security situation.
American officials have said at least a dozen countries have been or will be used as brief transit stops for U.S. military flights out of Afghanistan and roughly the same number have pledged to help resettle Afghans.
Photos by Wakil Kohsar/Afp – Getty Images. Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 22, 2021, 12:32 p.m. ET
Aug. 22, 2021, 12:32 p.m. ET
A young man sells Taliban flags at the roundabout outside the vacated U.S. embassy in Kabul, one week after the Taliban seized control of the city and American personnel were evacuated from the compound.
A pastel pink and blue mural displaying smiling girls serves as the backdrop. Dari script written on the wall reads: “I am the future of Afghanistan.”
During an earlier era of Taliban rule, officials barred women from working outside the home or leaving the house without a male guardian, eliminated schooling for girls and publicly flogged those who violated the group’s morality code. Since the U.S. ousted the Taliban roughly two decades ago, women and girls have rejoined society in ways that would have been previously unimaginable.
In the past week, Taliban officials have tried to reassure women that things will be different this time around. But it is far from clear whether that will be the case, and the uncertainty threatens the gains of women across Afghanistan.
Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 21, 2021, 5:54 p.m. ET
Aug. 21, 2021, 5:54 p.m. ET
transcript
“I need a female medic now! Sit down.” “You need to calm down. Calm down.” [baby crying] “Please call someone.” [baby crying] [gunshots]
Videos from Kabul airport on Saturday showed scores of injuries and adults passed out as Afghans clamored to be evacuated from Afghanistan.
The video clips, which are believed to have been recorded sometime Saturday morning, suggest that almost a week after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, conditions near the airport are not improving and may be worsening.
The videos showed a soldier urging a man sprawled out on the ground to “calm down” as she tried to give the man liquid to drink.
The recordings also show people pouring water onto the head of a screaming child and soldiers using a hose to cool people at the gate. Soldiers are seen hoisting people over a barrier. A Sky News journalist at the scene reported that near the front of the crowd, people were being “crushed.”
The grim scenes are the latest to emerge in a week that has been filled with desperate moments. On Monday, a crowd of Afghans surged onto the tarmac at the airport and tried to climb onto aircrafts as they departed. Some were killed.
And in another jarring scene, a baby was passed over a concrete wall topped with razor wire to a Marine. The baby was eventually reunited with his family.
Aug. 21, 2021, 4:58 p.m. ET
Aug. 21, 2021, 4:58 p.m. ET
Some of the thousands of people who have fled Afghanistan in recent days after its takeover by the Taliban have begun arriving in countries across the world that have pledged to help the massive evacuation effort. In some cases, countries are serving as safe if temporary transit stops. In other cases, they are permanent resettlement locations for refugees.
Videos from The Associated Press and Reuters show an airplane touching down in the dark of night at the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, England, and passengers getting off the plane. At a U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany, videos showed riders getting off a bus late Friday and having their temperatures taken as they exited. And in Perth, Australia, the same evening, families and their children could be seen lugging their belongings wearily into a hotel after a long journey.
Over the past several days, the evacuation of foreigners and vulnerable Afghans from Kabul has evolved into a global effort. Top American officials have said that 12 countries have been or will be acting as brief transit stops for U.S. military flights out of Afghanistan and 13 countries have pledged to help resettle Afghans.
They have said that since the airlift operation began last Sunday out of Kabul, 17,000 people have been evacuated, including 2,500 Americans.
Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 21, 2021, 2:01 p.m. ET
Aug. 21, 2021, 2:01 p.m. ET
Afghans headed to shops and markets on Saturday morning nearly a week after the Taliban took control of the capital.
Just a short distance from the airport where thousands of people have descended in desperate attempts to flee the country, street vendors laid out sliced melon that sweated under the warm sun. Shoppers packed into busy thoroughfares, huddled under umbrellas and inspected the merchandise.
Afghanistan’s economy faces significant challenges as the Taliban sweeps into power. The country has leaned for two decades on foreign aid that now accounts for nearly half its legal economy. Afghans are also grappling with food insecurity, and a drought threatens to exacerbate the food supply issues.
Aug. 21, 2021, 12:36 p.m. ET
Aug. 21, 2021, 12:36 p.m. ET
Even as scenes of chaos and desperation have unfolded outside Kabul’s airport, just seven kilometers away, players on the Afghan national cricket team are continuing to train at their home stadium.
As recently as Wednesday, the country’s cricket board posted pictures on Facebook of players stretching, and photos taken on Saturday showed bowlers hurling balls at waiting batsmen.
In the days since the Taliban took over Kabul, different pockets of the city have at times felt worlds apart. Near the airport, thousands of Afghans and Americans have been clamoring amid sometimes violent chaos to leave the country. But elsewhere, there are signs of the hum of daily life.
The Afghan national team was training for a three-match series against Pakistan that is scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka next month.
Perhaps nowhere is the contrast more stark than on the cricket pitch, where Hamid Shinwari, the chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, told Agence France-Presse that “the atmosphere in the camp was very spirited.” He told the news agency that officials were in touch with the authorities about getting the team to Sri Lanka after normal flight operations resume.
Officials with the Afghanistan Cricket Board did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Saturday.
Text by Matt Stevens.
Aug. 20, 2021, 3:50 p.m. ET
Aug. 20, 2021, 3:50 p.m. ET
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Night falls in Kabul, ending a week that saw the Taliban sweep into Kabul, re-establishing their rule nearly 20 years to the day after the first shots were fired of the American-led invasion that drove them from power.
What happens next is anybody’s guess: Have the Taliban tempered the brutality that defined so much about their last turn in power, or will they unleash a bloody campaign of retribution against anyone associated with the old regime? When they promise to respect women’s rights within the strictures of Islamic law, what does that mean?
For now, the vast majority of Afghans wait. They have no money to leave, and nowhere to go even if they did. Those with the means are doing anything they can to flee, braving Taliban checkpoints to reach the last redoubt of American-backed rule in Afghanistan, Kabul’s international airport. Some are organizing a resistance force in the mountains north of Kabul. Others are on the run, hiding as the Taliban hunt for them.
Photos by The New York Times. Text by Matthew Rosenberg.
Aug. 20, 2021, 2:03 p.m. ET
Aug. 20, 2021, 2:03 p.m. ET
Decades of war have left millions of Afghans displaced, and the latest burst of fighting this summer has only further swelled their numbers. Many have taken refuge in Kabul, filling parks and other public spaces with a new generation of men, women and children who have seen firsthand how war rolls through towns, villages and cities, uprooting those in its path.
Aug. 20, 2021, 11:46 a.m. ET
Aug. 20, 2021, 11:46 a.m. ET
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The few square miles that encompass Kabul’s airport and its environs had by Friday settled into a tale of two cities: At the airport, American-led forces are firmly in control and trying to keep evacuations moving, packing whoever they can onto flights out. On the streets, the Taliban reign, wielding clubs and whips and, at times, opening fire to keep control as thousands of people swarm the airport, desperate to get out.
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Photos by The New York Times and Afp – Getty Images. Videos by The Associated Press and Reuters. Text by Matthew Rosenberg.
Aug. 20, 2021, 10:58 a.m. ET
Aug. 20, 2021, 10:58 a.m. ET
Scenes that would have been unthinkable only a week ago continued unfolding on Friday across Kabul nearly as quickly as the Taliban swept through Afghanistan.
Khalil Haqqani, a leader of one of the most powerful and violent Taliban factions, appeared at Friday prayers, the high point in the Islamic week. Mr. Haqqani, 48, is on both the U.S. and United Nations terrorist lists. Along with several members of the family, he is now playing a prominent role in the new Taliban regime.
Backed by Pakistan’s intelligence service, the Haqqani network, as his family’s faction is known, has long been one of the Taliban’s most effective and violent branches, responsible for kidnapping Americans, launching complex suicide attacks and conducting targeted assassinations. To a great many Afghans and foreigners who have followed the war, Mr. Haqqani’s emergence in the capital was a stark reminder of who now runs Afghanistan. Driving home that point, Mr. Haqqani showed up carrying an American-made M4 rifle and was accompanied by a security detail dressed in high-end American gear that had been supplied to Afghan commandos.
Photos by Jim Huylebroek and Victor J. Blue for The New York Times. Text by Matthew Rosenberg.
Aug. 19, 2021, 4:27 p.m. ET
Aug. 19, 2021, 4:27 p.m. ET
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Shakib Rahmani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Shakib Rahmani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Amid the clatter of gunshots, panicked Afghans and foreigners continued to swarm Kabul’s international airport Thursday, desperately trying to get aboard evacuation flights to safety. The Taliban beat and harassed people struggling to reach the military airport, where 7,000 Americans and other evacuees have been flown out of Afghanistan since Aug. 14, the Pentagon said. There was continued chaos as gunmen manhandled people and fired into the air.
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
Crowds gathered
trying to escape city
The Pentagon said Thursday that 5,200 U.S. troops were on the ground and that multiple airport gates were now open. The State Department said 6,000 people had been processed inside the facility and were awaiting flights.
KABUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
KABUL INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
KABUL INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
Photographs by The New York Times. Video by Mirwais Khan Amiri for Reuters and The Associated Press. Text by David Zucchino.
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