Afghans who fled Kabul in the past few days have been left horrified by the situation back home. People feel betrayed both by the Afghan army and NATO forces.
Image: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images
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Afghan national Jalal is terrified for his family. "My family is in Kabul now, in a hiding place, but the Taliban is searching every house," he told DW, using a pseudonym to protect the identity of his family. "They are knocking on the houses, searching for people who worked with the Afghan government or military, or if they have arms or ammunition. I don't know what's going to happen to her."
His wife, who was a member of a women's organization, is also in hiding and terrified, he said, but Kabul airport has been cut off by the Taliban, and all the road borders are now closed, too. "The situation is very frightening and horrible," he said.
The 26-year-old student made it to Germany a day before Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban, thanks to his student visa, but he had no option but to leave his family behind.
"My ideology has always been against the Taliban and their regime," he said. "I am from a political family, and I have been a Western-educated person with the political, social ideas that can never be accepted for them. I and my family have been threatened by the Taliban many times."
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The desperate situation in Afghanistan
"We didn't expect this," he said. "Our president was saying there is a peace process going on, and there will be an interim government coming first, and there will be a transition to the Taliban. But the situation changed very fast."
Jalal also has no faith in the Taliban's promises not to carry out reprisals. "They are manipulators — they are lying right now in order to calm people," he said, saying that he had heard that the Taliban had already killed people in the provinces they had occupied. "I am absolutely 100% sure that they have lists of people who have worked with the government, who said bad things about the Taliban, and they will get revenge," he said.
Jalal feels that NATO's precipitous withdrawal from the country was badly mishandled. "I'll give you the example of Bagram airbase," he said. "They went at night without alerting anyone. They betrayed Afghanistan."
The whole situation has left him utterly baffled by the response of the Afghan military. "I cannot process the situation that has happened to Afghanistan," he said. "Why did they leave? Why wasn't one bullet fired (as Kabul fell)? I don't know why all this happened without any fight between our soldiers and the Taliban."
Afghans try to flee as Taliban topples government
Hundreds are trying to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban swept into the capital. Western powers airlifted civilians out of Kabul airport as commercial flights were halted.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Desperate Afghans try to enter Kabul airport
Afghan families have been making increasingly desperate attempts to get into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Many children are among the crowds trying to make a last ditch attempt to escape the Taliban who stormed the capital city.
Image: REUTERS
Afghans face an uncertain future
Since the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, Afghans have faced a difficult decision: stay and hope government forces contain the Taliban insurgency or flee to neighboring countries. Now that the Taliban has seized Kabul, many now appear to be caught in limbo, with no clear indication as to what will happen next.
Image: REUTERS
Crowds gather at Kabul airport
Kabul's main airport, named after Hamid Karzai, the first president installed after the Taliban were toppled, was the scene of desperate crowds on Monday. Hundreds were hoping to board planes and flee Taliban rule. While Western powers rushed to evacuate small groups of people, mostly their own citizens but also some local employees, commercial flights in and out of the country were halted.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Taliban take presidential palace
After the fall of the capital city, Kabul, Taliban fighters took control of the Afghan presidential palace on Sunday. Live footage showed Taliban commanders and fighters sitting inside the palace, declaring victory in their campaign against Afghan forces.
Image: Zabi Karim/AP/picture alliance
Fear of Islamist rule
Many fear the hard-line Islamist rule of the Taliban, who claimed in a statement that they would not take revenge against those who supported the US-backed alliance. Women and girls were mostly prohibited from education during the Taliban's previous rule in Afghanistan. People in Kabul hurriedly took their own steps to try to hide images the fundamentalists might dislike.
Image: Kyodo/picture alliance
Crossing the border to Pakistan
While the Hamid Karzai airport saw an exodus of people trying to leave, some Afghans crossed over the border to Pakistan. Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told DW that the government has closed the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan.
Image: Jafar Khan/AP/picture alliance
Taliban return weeks after US withdrawal
The US and its allies entered Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and toppled the Taliban. As the 20-year conflict came to an abrupt end with the pullout of US and NATO troops, Afghan government forces quickly collapsed without support.
Image: Hoshang Hashimi/AP Photo/picture alliance
Taliban leadership
The Taliban governed the country from 1996 to 2001 and imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah law. It was founded under the leadership of Mullah Omar. Haibatullah Akhundzada is now the top leader, while co-founder Mullah Baradar, seen in this image, heads the political wing.
Image: Social Media/REUTERS
Taliban fighters raise their flag
The Taliban claims it is ready to control the country and on Monday said it would not harm civilians who had cooperated with Western forces. "We are ready to have a dialogue with all Afghan figures and will guarantee them the necessary protection," Taliban political office spokesman Mohammad Naeem told broadcaster Al Jazeera. The claim might not be easy for all to believe.
Image: Gulabuddin Amiri/AP/picture alliance
Women and children at risk
Women, children and other minorities are likely to suffer badly under the Taliban regime. Women and girls were barred from education during the Taliban's previous rule in Afghanistan, which was overturned after the US-led invasion in 2001.
Image: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
President Ghani flees
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on August 15. "In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out," he said, but stressed that he would continue to fight for the country.
Image: Rahmat Gul/AP Photo/picture alliance
Former President Karzai urges peace
Afghan leaders have created a council to meet with the Taliban and manage the transfer of power. Former President Hamid Karzai, who is part of the council, said this was "to prevent chaos and reduce the suffering of the people," and to manage a "peaceful transfer" of power.
Image: Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo/picture alliance
US, European powers evacuate
Germany deployed military planes to help with evacuation from Afghanistan after closing its Kabul embassy. The US, Britain and Saudi Arabia are also evacuating forces, diplomats, and other officials from the country.
Image: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa/picture alliance
Protests in the US
Many in the US demonstrated in front of the White House for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan on the weekend. Admiral Mike Mullen said the US and allies "underestimated the impact of what a corrupt government does." He added: "We just reached too far, expectations were too high, and it was a bridge too far to get to where we thought we wanted to go."
The long delays in granting visas has led to bureaucratic confusion — German media have reported that, even though helpers were supposed to be told where exactly in Germany they should travel to, Afghans were often left to arrange their own travel, which meant that people arrived at airports in Germany with no one to tell them where to go. In some cases, it was left to relatives in Germany to call the refugee homes to organize shelter for the new arrivals.
