The latest on Afghanistan as Taliban advances towards Kabul

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Angela Dewan, Adrienne Vogt and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 5:51 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021
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2:34 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Taliban enter Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, according to reports

From CNN's Tim Lister, Nic Robertson and Saleem Mehsud

 

A view of a deserted road showing a monument with image of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Masoud, in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, Afghanistan, on August 14.
A view of a deserted road showing a monument with image of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Masoud, in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, Afghanistan, on August 14. EPA/Shutterstock

Reports from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif – one of just three major cities still in the Afghan government's hands – say the Taliban has now entered the city.

A local journalist told CNN Saturday that the Taliban had freed all prisoners in the city's jail.

According to a source who is with a pro-government militia, Afghan National Army units withdrew from the city without any notice, allowing the Taliban to break through defense lines.

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted that Mazar-i-Sharif had been “conquered,” adding that the governor's office, police headquarters and intelligence (NDS) buildings had been taken, as well as army bases. Many of the vehicles, weapons and equipment had fallen into the hands of the mujahideen, he said.

2:24 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Biden held briefing with national security team on Afghanistan, White House says

US President Joe Biden receives a briefing at the White House on August 10, 2021.
US President Joe Biden receives a briefing at the White House on August 10, 2021. Susan Walsh/AP

President Biden was briefed about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan by his national security team this morning, according to the White House. 

“This morning, the President and Vice President held a secure video conference with the national security team to discuss the ongoing efforts to drawdown our civilian footprint in Afghanistan, evacuate SIV applicants, and monitor the evolving security situation. The President and Vice President were joined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor, and Homeland Security Advisor,” a readout of the meeting says.

Biden is spending the weekend at Camp David.

The White House also tweeted out a photo Saturday of President Biden holding a video conference with Vice President Kamala Harris and his national security team, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

2:25 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Capital of Kunar province in Afghanistan falls to Taliban

From CNN's Tim Lister in Spain

The capital city, Asadabad, fell to the Taliban on Saturday, a member of the provincial council in Kunar in eastern Afghanistan said.

The council member did not want to be named but confirmed that all the districts of Kunar province were now under Taliban control. He said the capital had been surrendered without a fight. Senior officials had left the city, he said.

The Taliban head claimed earlier Saturday that it took control of Asadabad, having taken over the governor's office, police headquarters and intelligence facilities.

12:37 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Afghan security forces pushing back against Taliban in Mazar-i-Sharif, source says

From CNN's Vasco Cotovio

Afghan security forces have been able to push back a Taliban offensive on Mazar-i-Sharif that started at 4 a.m. local time, according to an Afghan security source with knowledge of the fighting. 

According to the source, the Taliban successfully managed to conquer the gates of Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city before being pushed back by Afghan security forces. 

They were able to do so again, and now Afghan security forces are advancing, trying to push them out of the city. 

The Taliban is attacking the city on three fronts, according to the source.

11:25 a.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Biden will be briefed regularly on Afghanistan while at Camp David

From CNN's Jasmine Wright

US President Biden received additional briefings throughout the day Friday by his national security team on the situation in Afghanistan while at Camp David, a White House official confirmed to CNN on Saturday.

As CNN previously reported, the President stands firm in his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, the official confirmed, even as the Taliban continues to seize provincial capitals at an accelerated rate.

Biden is expected to be briefed regularly this weekend while at Camp David, CNN's Jeremy Diamond reported Friday. 

The White House tweeted a photo Friday evening of Biden on the phone receiving a briefing on the ongoing efforts to withdraw US embassy staff in Afghanistan.

“Today President Biden spoke with Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the ongoing efforts to safely drawdown the civilian footprint in Afghanistan," the tweet read.

11:18 a.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Qatar calls on the Taliban to "cease fire" and work through the peace process after Doha talks

From CNN's Vasco Cotovio in London and Hamdi Alkhshali in Atlanta

Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, meets with the head of the Taliban's Political Bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, and his accompanying delegation in Doha.
Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, meets with the head of the Taliban's Political Bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, and his accompanying delegation in Doha. Qatar News Agency

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has urged the Taliban to “reduce escalation and cease fire.”

The country’s foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that Al Thani conveyed his position in a meeting with the head of the Taliban's Political Bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, and his accompanying delegation in Doha.

“Last week, Doha hosted an expanded international meeting on Afghanistan, which culminated in the participants agreeing on a set of positions, including the need to accelerate the peace process, negotiate concrete proposals from the Afghan sides, work to build confidence, stop violence between the two sides, and respect international law. Not to recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force,” the ministry added in its statement.

The statement followed talks in Doha on Thursday between Taliban representatives and Afghan government officials, along with envoys from the United States, China, Pakistan, the UN, the European Union, among others.

12:21 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Taliban claim to have captured provincial capital of Gardez

From CNN’s Tim Lister in Spain

The Taliban says it has captured another provincial capital, Gardez, on Saturday. If confirmed, the capture of Gardez — which is the capital of Paktia — would occur as the Taliban advances to the national capital of Kabul.

Afghanistan has 34 provincial capitals.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the governor's office, police headquarters, intelligence center and all its facilities had been seized.  

“A large number of weapons and equipment fell into the hands of Mujahideen,” he tweeted.

The spokesperson said the Taliban were now advancing towards the base of the 203rd Thunder Corps, the army unit that was defending Gardez.

There's been no word from the government on the Taliban's claim, but images and video from the city show Taliban fighters on the streets. Video also showed dozens of men running from the city's prison.

2:18 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

"Still people are having fear": Here's what life is like in some of the cities captured by the Taliban

Taliban fighters sit on the back of a vehicle in Herat, Afghanistan, on August 14, 2021.
Taliban fighters sit on the back of a vehicle in Herat, Afghanistan, on August 14, 2021. Hamed Sarfarazi/AP

Over the last week, the Taliban has made significant gains across Afghanistan and now control over half of the country's provincial capitals. Cities like Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz are among those now under control of the Taliban, whose fighters are circling ever closer to the capital, Kabul.

CNN spoke to Afghans in Herat and Kunduz, where some said the Taliban had brought a sense of quiet after weeks of fighting, while others expressed fear.

Ismahel is a 40-year-old shopkeeper in the city of Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city and a major urban center in western Afghanistan. He tells CNN normality is returning to the city after the tumult of its fall to the Taliban on Thursday evening.

"[The] entire city is back to normal, people are living normally [and] shops are all open," Ismahel says, adding that he has seen women dressed in burqas resuming their daily lives too.

He recalled a friend visiting his shop on Thursday warning of the Taliban's encroachment and suggesting they flee the city.

"We closed the shops and went home. Afterwards, we saw that the city fell to the Taliban," he said. "Today is the first day so students didn't go to school, but government employees went to their offices."

He added that some people were happy that fighting and "the sounds of bullets" had stopped after a month.

"We feel good after the war finished," he said.

But people in Herat are also likely living in fear, and many would be hesitant to express criticism of the Taliban in such early days of its control.

In Kunduz, the first city to be taken, 31-year-old resident Atiqullah says people are adapting to the transition of power but remain fearful.

"Still people are having fear, although we were told by the Taliban not to be afraid," Atiqullah tells CNN.

He adds that some women are going out and have been told to wear burqas, while teachers have been told to return to schools, though the Taliban has said only male teachers should educate boys and female teachers tutor girls.

2:22 p.m. ET, August 14, 2021

Analysis: Ghani statement may have been testing the waters

From CNN's Sam Kiley

Kabul police secure areas in the central part of the city on August 13, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. 
Kabul police secure areas in the central part of the city on August 13, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s brief public address earlier Saturday was a clear holding statement to try and reassure the people who still support his government that something is being done.

When he said he would consult with elders and other leaders both inside and outside of the country, he may have been canvassing opinion.

He could be testing the waters to gauge appetite for him to either step down or to explore some kind of power-sharing deal with the Taliban before the group moves on Kabul. Any fighting in the Afghan capital would be a protracted conflict in all probability.

The government will be looking to learn lessons after seeing local allies join with the Taliban, like Afghan warlord Ismail Khan. Khan appears to have struck a deal with the militants after the group claimed Herat, in an attempt to ensure his own safety and even his own future political position.

Khan presided over the city during the last Taliban administration more than 20 years ago, and in the years since, he has served as Herat's governor and an Afghan government minister. But on Friday, he was seen in a Taliban video alongside militants.

His surrender caused a whole Afghan Army Corp to change sides, or at least lay down their weapons.

If that’s the pattern of behavior we might see in Kabul, then there could be a peaceful resolution. But it may be one that many in the West would ultimately be uncomfortable with, because it would give the Taliban the whip-hand in any future political dispensations in Afghanistan.