The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later today.
The Taliban have reached Afghanistan's capital Kabul and have taken over the Presidential Palace.
Militants filmed inside the building are claiming victory.
Cliona O'Dwyer reports:
The U.S. military has taken over Afghanistan’s airspace as it struggles to manage a chaotic evacuation from Kabul's airport after the Taliban rolled into the capital. The militants meanwhile sought to project calm amid fears of looting and violence. https://t.co/c3pMKJdkGS
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 16, 2021
People have been desperately tying to escape, the government's collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani has fled.
Dr Ramiz Alakborov is the UN Secretary General's Deputy Special Representative in Kabul.
He's issued an appeal to fighters.
Commercial flights out of Hamid Karzai International Airport have been canceled, according to the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority https://t.co/t2zB53QUmY
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 16, 2021
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Afghanistan today.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the whole world needs to keep talking:
Sky's Stuart Ramsay's is in Kabul and says the streets are already eerily different.
The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan, following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 16, 2021
They were removed from power in 2001, but as foreign forces leave Afghanistan, they have regained controlhttps://t.co/shMIXnjwgM
Twenty-three Irish citizens are currently in Afghanistan, as the country descends into chaos.
The Foreign Affairs Minister has described the situation as the most significant foreign policy catastrophe in 20 years.
Minister Simon Coveney says the Government is in contact with all Irish Citizens who are in the country
Ardern calls for human rights to be upheld as Biden criticised for ending war https://t.co/57PejV9kZX
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) August 16, 2021
Late on Monday morning, at least five people were reported to have died at Kabul airport as hundreds of people attempt to board evacuation flights.
Reuters says it's unclear whether the casualties were killed by gunshots or by the stampede.
Afghan Journalist Muhammad Hadeed Pardes has been speaking to Taliban fighters in Kabul.
#UPDATE China is ready to deepen "friendly and cooperative" relations with #Afghanistan, a government spokeswoman (pic, R) said Monday, after the Taliban seized control of the country https://t.co/4MjttPXfWw pic.twitter.com/4xg1GwFhvh
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 16, 2021
An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is got underway at 2pm on Monday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Efforts are being made to repatriate 15 Irish citizens currently in the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney says Ireland has agreed to take an initial 45 Afghan refugees.
#UPDATE Victorious Taliban fighters patrolled #Kabul on Monday after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the capital's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule https://t.co/LFVeeJAxrE #KabulAirport pic.twitter.com/ato8NxB5Vx
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 16, 2021
An Irishwoman, whose son was killed in Afghanistan fighting with the British Army, says he died in vain.
Janette Binnie, mother of Sean Binnie who was born in Dublin, says he thought he was making a difference to society there:
The United Nations, on Monday afternoon, has called on the international community to come together to support the people of Afghanistan.
The Taliban has captured most of the country, including the capital Kabul, with chaotic scenes at the airport as people try to flee.
Insurgents made huge territorial gains following the withdrawal of western troops.
There is growing concern over the plight of women and girls.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres says it's essential the rights of women are protected:
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney doesn't believe suggestions that the Taliban has changed
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