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Taliban back in control of Afghanistan 20 years after 9/11 attacks
In the statement posted on Facebook, Ghani, the country's elected leader, said he chose to leave Afghanistan to prevent further bloodshed.
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Taliban fighters and local residents sit on an Afghan National Army (ANA) Humvee vehicle along the roadside in Laghman province on August 15, 2021. (AFP/AFP)
T
he Taliban has won the war in Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement Sunday after fleeing the country, marking the Islamist militant group's return to power 20 years after its removal by US-led forces following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
In the statement posted on Facebook, Ghani, the country's elected leader, said he chose to leave Afghanistan to prevent further bloodshed.
Ghani also said the Taliban have won with the sword and the gun, adding they are now responsible for protecting the honor and the property of their compatriots.
The president has arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Russia's Tass news agency reported.
One of the Taliban's most senior officials declared on Sunday that the movement's swift victory over the Afghan government was an unrivalled feat, according to a report by Reuters.
Read also: Taliban fighters told to wait at gates of Kabul: spokesman
But Baradar, the head of the Taliban's political bureau, said in a video statement that the real test would begin now with meeting the expectations of the people and serving them by resolving their problems, according to the report.
Taliban fighters entered Kabul on Sunday after the group's rapid resurgence in the country following US President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw US military forces and bring an end to what he called "the longest war in US history."
The Taliban previously came to power in 1996, but after they refused to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden -- the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks -- US-led forces toppled the regime through a military invasion in 2001.
In response to the insurgents' lightning sweep, the UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Afghanistan on Monday.
