A Chinese envoy to the United Nations stressed Monday that Afghanistan "must never again become a haven for terrorists", which he said will be necessary for any future political solution in the country.

"In the last 20 years, terrorist organizations such as Islamic State, al-Qaida and ETIM have gathered and developed in Afghanistan, posing a serious threat to international and regional peace and security. Afghanistan must never again become a haven for terrorists. This is the bottom line that must be held firmly for any future political solution in Afghanistan," said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN.

China hopes that the Taliban will commit to making "a clean break" with the terrorist organizations, Geng said. All countries should work together to combat terrorism in "in all its forms and manifestations", and "take resolute actions" to prevent terrorist organizations such as Islamic State, al-Qaida and East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from taking advantage of this chaos.

Geng made the remarks during a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Afghanistan, convened just a day after the Taliban seized control of the country following the withdrawal of US troops, which started in May.

The envoy noted that the situation in Afghanistan has undergone major changes — and the country's national prospects are at a historic crossroads.

"China has always maintained that the political solution is the only way out for Afghanistan," Geng said, adding that China "respects the will and choice of the Afghan people".

He stressed the pressing task at the moment is to restore peace, stability and order as soon as possible so as to avoid unnecessary casualties and large numbers of refugees to the utmost extent possible.

The envoy called on Taliban to respect and guarantee the safety, security and interest of foreign nationals in the country. All parties in Afghanistan have the responsibility to protect people's lives and property. They should provide assurance for the safe residence and orderly evacuation of foreign citizens, he added.

China has noted that the Afghan Taliban said the war in Afghanistan is over and they will form an open, inclusive Islamic government in addition to taking actions to protect Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic missions, the envoy said.

"China hopes these remarks can be implemented so as to ensure a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan, keep at bay all kinds of terrorism and criminal acts, and make sure that the Afghan people stay away from war and can rebuild their homeland," Geng said.

He also expressed hope that the Afghan Taliban can form solidarity with all factions and ethnic groups in the country and build an inclusive political structure suited to its national realities, so as to lay the foundation for achieving enduring peace in the country.

Geng noted the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. He urged the international community to step up humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and its neighbors, which have received a large number of displaced persons from Afghanistan, to help alleviate the regional humanitarian crisis.

The relevant parties should ensure that international humanitarian relief agencies can continue their work unhindered. The international community should also continue to help Afghanistan and its neighbors to control the pandemic as soon as possible, he added.

The chaos currently in Afghanistan is directly related to the hasty withdrawal of foreign troops, Geng said. Relevant countries should earnestly deliver on the commitment to support peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan and play a constructive role on the issue of Afghanistan, he said.

"On the basis of respecting the leadership of Afghanistan and relevant efforts of the neighboring countries in the political, security, development, humanitarian and anti-narcotics fields, constructive assistance to Afghanistan should be provided on continuing basis," he added.

Geng asked the secretary-general to ensure the safety of personnel of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which has played an important role in supporting the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan.

China also looks forward to the UN chief presenting practical views and recommendations to the Security Council on the future UN presence in Afghanistan as soon as possible, he said.

On Sunday, the Taliban captured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan and home to some 6 million people. The collapse of the Afghanistan government came after several months of armed conflict across the country following the pullout of US and NATO troops.

The Taliban ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, before US-backed Afghan forces drove them from power in 2001 for refusing to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, considered the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

Following Monday's emergency meeting, the 15-member Security Council released a statement calling for "an immediate cessation of all hostilities" and the establishment, through inclusive negotiations, of a new government that is united, inclusive and includes women.

The top UN decision-making body also stressed "a peaceful settlement through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation".

During a speech at the emergency session, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the international community "to stand together" to uphold human rights and to ensure that the Asian country "is never again used as a platform or safe haven for terrorist organizations".

UNITED NATIONS - UN humanitarians and their partners continue to deliver relief to more than 17,500 displaced people in Kabul despite challenges from the Afghanistan crisis, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

"In the past month, 17,500 people have been identified as newly internally displaced," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Most of the displaced people arriving in recent days are reported to have arrived from Ghazni and Logar provinces."

Some 13,500 of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) received food, cash, health care, household items, and water and sanitation support, Dujarric said. Inter-agency teams were deployed around Kabul to assess humanitarian needs.

"Despite immense challenges, humanitarian organizations -- both the UN and nongovernmental organizations -- in Afghanistan are committed to delivering aid and services to millions of people in need while adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence," he said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest Flash Update on Afghanistan that assessment teams had to shut down their operations Sunday afternoon "due to uncertainty of the situation in Kabul."

People's immediate needs continue to be shelter, household items, food, sanitation, hygiene kits, provision of health services and drinking water, said the office.

The spokesman noted the secretary-general's report on Children and Armed Conflict in Afghanistan released last week, saying an additional 5,770 boys and girls were killed and maimed in the country between January 2019 and December 2020.

Child casualties for the first half of 2021 constituted the highest numbers of children killed and maimed for this period ever recorded by the United Nations in Afghanistan, a situation compounded in the last few weeks and days, Dujarric said.

He said the $1.3-billion humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan remains just 38 percent funded, leaving a shortfall of almost $800 million.

Afghans rushed to the airport in the capital Kabul on Monday as the nation fell to Taliban forces. Video released by reporters at the scene shows a group of Afghans chasing a US Air Force plane as it tried to take off, some even grabbing the plane in an attempt to get away.

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a telephone conversation Monday.

Lavrov informed Blinken of working contacts that have been established by the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital with the new authorities and main political forces in the country, the ministry said in a statement.

Blinken discussed work that was being carried out in relation to the evacuation of staff working at the US Embassy in Kabul and urgent humanitarian assistance.

Both sides agreed to continue close consultations with the participation of representatives from China, Pakistan, other interested countries, and the United Nations, which would be aimed at promoting an "inclusive inter-Afghan dialogue," the ministry said.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani had left the country, before the Taliban forces entered the Afghan capital Kabul and took control of the presidential palace on Sunday.

In response to the collapse of the Afghan government, thousands have since attempted to flee the country causing chaos and alleged casualties.

US soldiers killed two armed men at Kabul's airport Monday, according to the Pentagon.

"In the thousands of people who were there peacefully, two guys who had weapons brandished them menacingly. They were both killed," AFP quoted a US defense official, who insisted on anonymity, as saying.

Thousands of US troops took control of security at Afghanistan's main international airport outside Kabul since Saturday to enable the evacuations of US officials.

Afghans, meanwhile, massed at the airport and flooded out onto the tarmac seeking to board commercial flights out of the country.

Earlier, Reuters quoted witnesses as saying at least five people were killed at Kabul airport on Monday when people clung to departing aircraft as they were taking off from the Afghan capital.

Videos showed hundreds impeding a US military aircraft when it tried to take off, and there were reports that several were killed, either being crushed or falling from it after it took off.

China's response

China respects the Afghan people's wishes and choices and expects a steady transition of the situation in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The statement from the Taliban declaring the war in the country over has been noted by China, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing in Beijing. The Taliban said it will hold talks aimed at forming an "open, inclusive Islamic government" and take responsible action to ensure the safety of Afghan citizens and the foreign diplomatic corps.

Hua said that the war in Afghanistan has lasted for more than 40 years. To end it and realize peace is the hope of over 30 million Afghan people, as well as the international community and countries in the region, she said.

Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday, after it completed its takeover of the country in a lightning offensive that saw provinces fall without a fight following the earlier withdrawal of US troops.

Muhammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office, said on Sunday: "Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahedeen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years."

Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be made clear soon. He added that the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and called for peaceful international relations.

"We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people," he said. "We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others."

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Islamists entered Afghanistan's capital Kabul virtually unopposed. Ghani later posted on Facebook that he left to avert bloodshed in the capital.

Hua said China hoped the Taliban's commitments will be implemented "to ensure a steady transition of the situation in Afghanistan and contain all kinds of terrorism and crimes so that the Afghans can get away from the war and rebuild their beautiful homeland".

The Chinese embassy in Kabul is still operating with all staff at their posts. While the embassy has arranged for most Chinese nationals in Afghanistan to leave, some are voluntarily staying and the embassy is maintaining close contact with them, she said. "They are all safe at the moment," Hua said.

China has maintained contact with the Taliban on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan's sovereignty and the will of all parties in the country, she said.

Last month, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a visiting Taliban delegation in Tianjin led by the head of the Afghan Taliban Political Commission Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

"We hope all factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan will unite as one and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities so as to lay the foundation for realizing enduring peace," Hua said.

The Taliban has repeatedly expressed its hope to develop good relations with China, which is expected to participate in the country's reconstruction and development," she said. The Taliban has also said it will never allow any forces to use Afghanistan to harm China. "We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan," Hua said.

Meanwhile, Russia said it has no plan to evacuate its embassy in Kabul. Zamir Kabulov, a Russian diplomat and presidential envoy to Afghanistan, said he was in direct contact with Moscow's ambassador in Kabul and added Russian embassy employees were working "calmly".

Kabulov said Russia was among a number of countries to receive assurances from the Taliban that their embassies were safe, according to Russia's RIA Novosti agency.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Taliban and all parties to "exercise restraint" and said that the rights of women and girls, who suffered under the previous Taliban regime, need to be protected.

The UN Security Council was scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the Afghanistan situation.

Many Western countries have started evacuating their diplomatic staff in Kabul, with reports of chaotic scenes at the city's airport.

The US State Department confirmed the safe evacuation of all US embassy personnel, mostly by helicopter, to the airport, whose perimeter is secured by the US military.

Ren Qi in Moscow, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden on Monday stood by his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan while acknowledging Kabul's collapse to the Taliban came much sooner than Washington had anticipated.

"I stand squarely behind my decision," said Biden in a televised speech from the White House. "The truth is this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated."

The speech came one day after the Taliban completed a stunningly swift takeover of the war-torn country's capital of Kabul on Sunday after Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country.

"If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced that ending US military involvement in Afghanistan, now, was the right decision," said Biden who returned to the White House from Camp David ahead of schedule.

"American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves," he said.

In just over a week, the Taliban, which the US overthrew in 2001, went from winning control of its first provincial capital to taking over Kabul.

Saying he was willing to take criticism over the decision on troops withdrawal, Biden also cast blame on top Afghan leaders, Afghan forces and his predecessor Donald Trump for the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan.

"We have to be honest, our mission in Afghanistan is taking many missteps - made many missteps over the past two decades... I know my decision will be criticized, but I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to another president... yet another one, a fifth one," he said.

Trump, who inked a deal with the Taliban to withdraw US forces by this past May, also bears part of the responsibility for the current situation, said Biden.

"The choice I had to make as your president was either to follow through on that agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the Taliban in the middle of the spring fighting season," Biden said. "There would be no ceasefire after May 1."

Biden said the US mission in Afghanistan to defeat the Sept. 11 attackers and ensure al-Qaida could not use Afghanistan as a base to hit the United States had been completed.

"I made a commitment to the American people when I ran for president that I would bring America's military involvement in Afghanistan to an end. While it's been hard and messy and, yes, far from perfect," he said.

Biden said the United States will evacuate from Afghanistan thousands of American citizens who have been living and working in the country, warning the Taliban of "swift and forceful" response if these efforts come under attack.

The United States would expand refugee access to include other vulnerable Afghans not already covered by special immigrant visas, volunteers for nongovernmental organizations and personnel from US news agencies, he said.

Defense Department press secretary John Kirby said Monday that 1,000 more troops would be deployed to Kabul, eventually bringing the total force there to more than 6,000. About 2,500 US troops are currently on the ground.

Kirby confirmed two incidents in which US troops fired on armed people at the airport, resulting in the death of two of them.

The situation in Afghanistan will continue to "remain fluid in the coming hours and likely in the coming days," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.

"There has not been a formal transfer of power," Price said while being asked whom the United States recognizes as a leader of Afghanistan, adding that the US administration is still pushing for a political settlement.

"This is something that we are working again with the international community. You saw in the statement from the UN, a clear consensus emerge that a political settlement will be in everyone's interests," said Price.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and his team remained in the Taliban's diplomatic base of Qatar where US officials have been in talks with the group, Price said.

"They still continue to engage with the Taliban... The focus of course changed. It shifted from supporting peace negotiations along with the international community to working assiduously and urgently to do all we can with the international community on an urgent basis to avert violence, to attempt to maintain order in Kabul," said Price.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and other senior officials.

A majority of Americans disapproved of Biden's handling of US military operations in Afghanistan, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by the Trafalgar Group, found that 69 percent of polled Americans disapproved of Biden's handling of US military presence in the war-torn country, with only 23 percent approving.

TOKYO -- Afghanistan will not send athletes to the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which is set to kick off on August 24, organizers confirmed here on Monday.

Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, told a news conference that he has been aware of the information that Afghanistan is "unable to take part in the Paralympic Games."

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday night, while the Taliban ordered its members to enter the capital of Kabul.

"Currently, a situation exists in Afghanistan. That situation is the reason for their inability to come to Japan," he said. "We regret that they are not able to come, for the Afghanistan athletes, officials and stakeholders. I hope they are spending their time safely in their own country."

Muto said that the organizing committee had no idea how many people Afghanistan had originally planned to send to the Games.

A total of five Afghanistani athletes, including four men and one woman, competed in athletics, shooting, swimming and taekwondo at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that China respects the Afghan people's wishes and choices.

Hua said the war in Afghanistan has lasted for more than 40 years and to stop the war and realize peace is the voice of over 30 million Afghan people, and also the aspiration of the international community and regional countries.

The Chinese side has noticed the statement from the Afghanistan Taliban, which declared that war is over in the country and said that they will hold talks aimed at forming an "open, inclusive Islamic government" and take responsible actions to ensure the safety of Afghan citizens and the foreign diplomatic corps there, Hua said.

"We hope that the commitments will be implemented to ensure a steady transition of the situation in Afghanistan and contain all kinds of terrorism and crimes so that the Afghans can get away from the war and rebuild their beautiful homeland," Hua said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The spokeswoman said the Chinese embassy in Kabul remains operational and all staff are at their posts.

While the embassy has arranged for most Chinese nationals in Afghanistan to leave for China, some are voluntarily staying there and the embassy is maintaining close contact with them, she said.

"They are all safe at the moment," Hua said.

According to the spokeswoman, China has been maintaining contact and communications with Afghan Taliban on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty and the will of all parties in the country.

Last month, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a visiting delegation led by head of the Afghan Taliban Political Commission Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin.

"We hope all factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan will unite as one and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities, so as to lay the foundation for realizing enduring peace," Hua said.

She also said the Afghan Taliban has repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China and expected China to participate in the country's reconstruction and development, and said it will never allow any forces to use the country to harm China.

"We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan," she said.

While Afghan cities fells like dominoes to the Taliban, halfway across the globe in Washington, finger-pointing dominated the discourse over the rapid fall of Afghanistan's government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked Sunday about the scenes of chaos in the capital Kabul, by ABC News reporter Johnathan Karl.

"Just last month, President Biden said that under no circumstance, and those were his words, under no circumstance would the US personnel, embassy personnel be airlifted out of Kabul in a replay of the scenes that we saw in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975," he said.

"So, isn't that exactly what we're seeing now? I mean, even the images are evocative of what happened in Vietnam."

"Let's take a step back," Blinken said. "This is manifestly not Saigon."

US President Joe Biden had said at a July 8 news conference that, "There's going to be no circumstance where you're going to see people being lifted off the roof of (an) embassy of the United States from Afghanistan."

The US ambassador to Afghanistan and some of his staff were seen fleeing Kabul with the American flag Sunday, as the Pentagon increased the number of troops by 1,000 to 6,000 to help with the evacuation. Biden had said the US would largely complete its withdrawal by Aug 31, but the events of the past week have likely changed that timetable.

Ambassador Ross Wilson was seen with the flag arriving at Kabul Airport, as other Americans still in the mountainous country that straddles central and south Asia were ordered to shelter in place as shots were fired at the city's airport.

Biden said Saturday that former president Donald Trump "left the Taliban in the strongest military position since 2001".

"When I came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor — which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019 — that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021, deadline on US forces," Biden said in a statement.

"Shortly before he left office, he also drew US forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500. Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choice — follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict."

Trump responded with his own statement Saturday, saying: "He ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for him — a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America.

"The withdrawal would be guided by facts on the ground," Trump said of the 2019 deal. "After I took out ISIS, I established a credible deterrent. That deterrent is now gone.

"The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America's power," Trump said. "What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America's Embassy in Kabul."

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday as the embattled president joined an exodus of citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade US campaign to remake the country.

US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff told senators Sunday that a previous assessment of how soon terrorist groups will likely regroup in Afghanistan will be expedited because of the current situation, reported Axios, citing three sources on the phone call.

As heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and several entered Kabul's abandoned presidential palace, Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman and negotiator, told The Associated Press that the group would hold talks in the coming days aimed at forming an "open, inclusive Islamic government".

Also, a Taliban commander claimed he spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay in a triumphant speech from inside the palace.

Al-Jazeera livestreamed the news conference from inside the palace, which showed a group of Taliban fighters sitting at the president's desk before one claimed he was a former inmate of the US-controlled detention center in Cuba.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the war was over and that the group was not looking to increased hostilities.

"We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people," he said. "We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others.

"We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed experience in Afghanistan once again," Naeem said.

Helicopters hovered above Kabul through the day to evacuate personnel from the US embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed documents, and the American flag was lowered.

As the Taliban closed in, President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country.

"The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation," said Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council and a longtime rival of Ghani. "God should hold him accountable."

Ghani later posted on Facebook that he left to avert bloodshed in the capital, without providing his destination.

The Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in a little more than a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over nearly 20 years to build up Afghan security forces.

An Afghan university student described feeling betrayed as she watched the US embassy evacuation.

"You failed the younger generation of Afghanistan," said Aisha Khurram, 22, who is now unsure of whether she will be able to graduate in two months. She said her generation was "hoping to build the country with their own hands. They put blood, efforts and sweat into whatever we had right now."

Earlier Sunday, the Taliban seized Jalalabad before marching on Kabul. Afghan forces at Bagram Air Base, home to a prison housing 5,000 inmates, surrendered to the Taliban, according to the Bagram district chief. The prison at the former US base held both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

DOHA - Muhammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar's capital Doha, stressed on Sunday evening that there is no danger to embassies, diplomatic missions and foreign nationals in the Afghan capital Kabul, pledging that the Taliban will maintain security across the country.

"We assure all embassies, diplomatic missions, institutions and residences of foreign nationals in Kabul that there is no danger to them," Naeem said on his Twitter account.

He stressed that the forces of the Taliban movement are tasked with maintaining security in Kabul and other cities in the country.

The Taliban announced on Sunday that it has taken control of the presidential palace in Kabul, and will announce the establishment of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" soon, according to media reports.

Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation Chairman Abdullah Abdullah said in a video post on his Facebook page that Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has left the country on Sunday night.

BRUSSELS - Several European countries have decided to evacuate diplomats, citizens from Afghanistan and close embassies there as Taliban members have entered the capital Kabul on Sunday.

The French embassy in Kabul has moved to the capital's airport to help the evacuation of French nationals in the country, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday.

"The Ministry of the Armed Forces will deploy military reinforcements and air assets to the United Arab Emirates in the coming hours, so that the first evacuations to Abu Dhabi can begin," added the ministry in a statement.

Earlier in the afternoon, in a video posted on his Twitter account, French ambassador to Afghanistan David Martinon filmed himself in a helicopter "leaving the former green zone" of Kabul.

"The immediate and absolute priority in the coming hours is the security of the French, who have been called to leave Afghanistan, as well as the personnel there, French and Afghan," said the French presidential office in a statement.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said evacuations of German citizens out of Kabul have begun on Sunday.

Part of the German citizens there have already flown out of the country and military planes will land in Kabul on Sunday night to help the evacuations, he said.

Britain has deployed 600 troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate British nationals and local interpreters.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that the US decision to pull out of Afghanistan has "accelerated things", noting "no one wants Afghanistan to become a breeding ground for terror".

The situation in the war-torn country has been worsening since the speedy withdrawal of US-led troops starting on May 1. US President Joe Biden has ordered the US military to end its mission in Afghanistan by the end of this month.

The British parliament will be recalled on Wednesday from their summer recess to debate the government's response to the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Sweden will close its embassy in Afghanistan's capital Kabul with immediate effect and no later than Monday, Foreign Minister Ann Linde announced on Sunday.

The evacuation of embassy personnel and local staff would commence immediately, Linde told a press conference.

"What is happening now is ... happening at a speed that no one could have predicted," said Linde, who had said on Friday that an evacuation was not imminent.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Sunday that Finland is temporarily closing the embassy in Kabul, and there will be "no service available from Monday". He said Finnish diplomats were awaiting flights out of the country and were in safety.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday night, while the Taliban forces entered the capital of Kabul and took control of the presidential palace.

The Taliban has assured that all the diplomatic missions and foreign citizens in Kabul will face no dangers. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they are committed to ensuring security in the Afghan capital.

KABUL - The Taliban said on Sunday night that they have taken control of the presidential palace in Afghan capital Kabul, and they will soon declare the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, media reports said.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country earlier on Sunday night, Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, said in a video on his Facebook page.

The report came as the Taliban has ordered its forces to enter Kabul city.

A curfew has been imposed in Kabul starting 9:00 pm local time on Sunday to prevent violence.

Reports said earlier in the day that a negotiation was underway in the presidential palace between the Afghan government and the Taliban on a peaceful power transfer.

Afghanistan's President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani fled the nation on Sunday, a top official said, effectively ceding power as the Taliban reached the capital, Kabul, to seal a nationwide military victory in just 10 days.

"The former Afghan president has left the nation, leaving the people to this situation," Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, said in a video on his Facebook page.

"God hold him accountable, and the people will have their judgment."

The Taliban ordered its members to enter Kabul, a spokesman for the group said on Sunday.

A statement by Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, said the purpose was to ensure that order was maintained in the capital.

Two Taliban officials said on Sunday there would be no transitional government in Afghanistan and that the group expects a complete handover of power.

The Afghan people, especially civilians, have suffered from deaths, injuries and chaotic ways of life since the US-led invasion in 2001.

After more than a decade of systematically documenting the impact of the war on civilians, the United Nations found that by 2019, the number of civilian casualties had surpassed 100,000.

The UN's "Afghanistan Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: 2019" documented that 3,403 civilians were killed and 6,989 injured in 2019 alone. It was the sixth consecutive year that the number of civilian casualties had exceeded 10,000, according to Tadamichi Yamamoto, former UN special representative for Afghanistan. Yamamoto was the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan from 2016 to 2020.

Now, experts have said, the sudden withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has created another humanitarian crisis.

Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, said the current conflict has exposed common Afghans to "displacement, loss of livelihoods, atrocities because of the cross-fire and denial of medical treatment to scores of injured people".

Salman Bashir, former foreign secretary of Pakistan, said the speed of Taliban success on the ground has upset the wrong assumptions of the US and Western analysts about the Taliban.

Xinhua and AFP contributed to this story.

Related reading

Afghan interior minister says power to be peacefully transferred to transitional government

KABUL - Afghan acting Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said here on Sunday that "power will be peacefully transferred to a transitional government", local media reported.

"It is agreed that power will be transferred in a peaceful manner to a transitional administration," he said in a televised message broadcast in local media.

"People should not worry about the safety and security in Kabul," he said after chaos and disorder in parts of the city which were caused by rumors that Taliban militants had entered the city.

An Afghan Taliban spokesman also said that the group is negotiating with the Afghan government on a "peaceful transfer" of the capital of Kabul.

"No one's life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk," the Taliban said.

Taliban fighters have occupied the outskirts of Kabul, and sporadic gun firing can be heard in parts of the city as of midday on Sunday.

The Taliban issued a statement after occupying the outskirts of Kabul, saying they don't plan to take Kabul "by force".

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said that the outfit has ordered its insurgents to stay outside the capital and not to try to enter the city.

"The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city," he tweeted.

Muhahid later tweeted on Sunday that the militant group took control of Bagram prison at Bagram Airfield, 50 km north of Kabul, and released all inmates.

"All prisoners were released and were transported to a safe place," he said.

The prison homes about 5,000 to 7,000 inmates, mainly Taliban prisoners.

The Bagram Airfield, in Bagram district of eastern Parwan province, has served as a main U.S. and NATO forces for the past 20 years.

Mujahid also said Taliban members had taken control of Bamyan city, capital of central Bamyan province at around midday on Sunday.

The media office of the Afghanistan's Presidential Palace earlier denied Taliban's attack on and seizure of Kabul, saying only sporadic gun firing occurred in parts of Kabul.

No attack has taken place in Kabul, the country's security and defense forces and international partners are providing security for Kabul city, the office said on its social media account twitter.

"The situation is under control," it said.

Earlier on Sunday, several private offices and buildings were evacuated, and shops were shut down after rumors and unconfirmed reports on social media that the Taliban had entered central Kabul, causing panic among terrified civilians. Thousands of Afghans are living in parks or open spaces, not knowing what's coming next.

US embassy staff have been evacuated by helicopters, with core members working at the Kabul airport, the only exit route still in the government's hand. EU staff in Kabul have been transferred to a safe and undisclosed place, reports said.

Also on Sunday, Taliban fighters captured the eastern city of Jalalabad and the Torkham border post with Pakistan, forcing Pakistan to close the border point with Afghanistan. The Taliban also took control of Maidan Shar city on early Sunday, 35 km west of Kabul.