Afghan president departs after Taleban return to Kabul

[KABUL] President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday after Taleban fighters entered the capital Kabul, capping their return to power two decades after being forced out by US-led forces.

American diplomats were evacuated from their embassy by chopper after the militants swept across Afghanistan in days with little resistance from local forces trained and equipped by the United States and others for billions of dollars.

The Taleban urged government officials to stay, but officials said Mr Ghani had left the country.

It was not clear where he was going. A senior Interior Ministry official said he had left for Tajikistan, while a Foreign Ministry official said it was not known what country he would land in.

A representative of the Taleban said the group was checking on Mr Ghani's whereabouts. Some local social media users branded him a "coward" for leaving them in chaos.

Taleban fighters reached Kabul "from all sides", the senior Interior Ministry official said, and there were some reports of sporadic gunfire around the city.

But there was no significant fighting, and the group said it was waiting for the Western-backed government to surrender peacefully.

Iran said it had set up camps along the Afghan border to provide temporary refuge to Afghans fleeing their country.

Three diplomatic sources said Ali Ahmad Jalali, a US-based academic and former Afghan interior minister, could be named head of an interim administration in Kabul, though it was unclear whether the Taleban had agreed. In 2009, he was barred from running for president after refusing to give up his US citizenship.

REUTERS