The Afghan Taliban have tightened their territorial stranglehold around Kabul.
Refugees fleeing from their offensive have flooded the capital and US Marines have returned to oversee emergency evacuations.
Kabul has effectively become the besieged, last stand for government forces who have offered little or no resistance elsewhere.
In Kabul, US embassy staff have been ordered to begin shredding and burning sensitive material and 3000 American troops have been dispatched to oversee their evacuation.
For Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought refuge there in recent weeks, the overwhelming mood is one of confusion and fear.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply disturbed” by accounts of poor treatment of women in areas seized by the Taliban.
“It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away,” Guterres said.
Despite the frantic evacuation efforts, the Biden administration continues to insist that a complete Taliban takeover is not inevitable.
The Taliban offensive has accelerated in recent days, with the capture of Herat in the north and, just hours later, the seizure of Kandahar — the group’s spiritual heartland in the south.
The US-led evacuation is focused on thousands of people, including embassy employees, and Afghans and their families who fear retribution for working as interpreters or in other support roles for the United States.
