The situation on the ground in Kabul is changing rapidly as more American troops head in to secure the airport, but it’s clear that most will encounter what photographs from the region show: massive crowds of Afghans trying to escape, chaos and bodies on the city’s streets, and Taliban fighters lurking everywhere.
It’s far different than what it was on Friday when the western-backed government of Afghanistan had a president in power, shops were open, and local policemen were walking the Kabul streets. Now, on Monday, it’s been confirmed that President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country as tens of thousands of his fellow countrymen make desperate attempts to get out by car, on foot, or by literally clinging to the sides of moving aircraft while Taliban fighters sit triumphantly inside the presidential palace.
Though the Taliban had been gaining ground around the country for months, the inevitable fall of Kabul was apparent on Friday with the militant capture of Kandahar and Herat, the second and third-largest cities. The day before, the Pentagon announced the deployment of thousands of troops to begin an evacuation of the U.S. Embassy that was supposed to last until the end of August. The Taliban, however, entered Kabul on Sunday and the government quickly collapsed like a house of cards.
“After a series of disasters in recent days, most of the Afghan army began surrendering to the militants as it became clear theirs was a lost cause,” as Jeff Schogol wrote, adding that “Afghan Air Force, which U.S. government officials had repeatedly praised in recent months, was mostly captured on the ground after bases such as Kandahar Airfield fell to the Taliban.“
The fate of tens of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. government and other allies as interpreters and others appears grim: The Biden administration estimated there were about 70,000 Afghans who applied as refugees, according to Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), yet little more than 1,000 have so far been rescued.
Here’s what we’ve seen on the ground in Afghanistan in recent days:
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A policeman is seen at the site where Afghan senior government official Dawa Khan Menapal was shot dead in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2021. Unknown armed men in a targeted attack claimed the life of senior government official Dawa Khan Menapal in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, local media reported. Menapal, a former journalist, who had also served as deputy spokesman for the Presidential Palace in the past years, was gunned down by unidentified armed men in the Darul Aman area of Kabul city and two more persons were injured in the attack, the media outlet added in its report. (Photo by Sayed Mominzadah/Xinhua via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 8: Ahmadjan Nadar shows his Certificate of Appreciation from the NATO Maintenance And Supply Agency while seeking help applying for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) at the Herat Kabul Internet cafe on August 8, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Many Afghans are in desperate need of assistance completing the forms and obtaining the required human resources letters, a particular challenge for those whose US government work ended years ago. The Biden administration expanded refugee eligibility for Afghans as the Taliban escalates violence in the war-torn country. Thousands of Afghans who worked for the United States government during its nearly 20-year war here now fear for their safety as the US withdraws its troops from the country. Many of these Afghans, who worked as interpreters and translators for US intelligence agencies and military branches, have applied to come to the US as part of the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, with the first such group arriving in the US last month. But, for most SIV candidates, the timeline for relocation remains unknown. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 10: Displaced Afghan families head into Kabul from the northern provinces desperately leaving their homes behind on August 10, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban has taken control of six provincial capitals, among other towns and trade routes, since the United States accelerated withdrawal of its forces this year. Afghan families from Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan provinces have arrived in Kabul in greater numbers, fleeing the Taliban advance. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) -
A passenger walks to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. As a Taliban offensive encircles the Afghan capital, there’s increasingly only one way out for those fleeing the war, and only one way in for U.S. troops sent to protect American diplomats still on the ground: the airport. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 12: Farzia, 28, who lost her husband in Baghlan one week ago to fighting by the Taliban sits with her children, Subhan, 5, and Ismael ,2, in a tent at a makeshift IDP camp in Share-e-Naw park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. People displaced by the Taliban advancing are flooding into the Kabul capital to escape the Taliban takeover of their provinces. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) -
A Taliban fighter stands guard on a street in Herat on August 14, 2021. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
This picture taken on August 14, 2021 shows a Qatar Airways aircraft taking-off from the airport in Kabul. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday, further tightening their grip on the country as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the U.S. Embassy. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) -
Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Zabi Karimi) -
Taliban fighters patrol the streets in Herat on August 14, 2021. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
Taliban fighters drive an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle through the streets of Laghman province on August 15, 2021. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
A U.S. Chinook military helicopter flies above the US embassy in Kabul on August 15, 2021. Several hundred employees of the US embassy in Kabul have been evacuated from Afghanistan, a US defense official said on August 15, 2021, as the Taliban entered the capital. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
Taliban fighters sit on a vehicle along the street in Jalalabad province on August 15, 2021. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport on August 16, 2021, to flee the country as the Taliban were in control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded the insurgents had won the 20-year war. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
Afghans (L) crowd at the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Shakib Rahmani / AFP) (Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images) -
Afghans crowd at the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Shakib Rahmani / AFP) (Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 16: Taliban members patrol the streets of Afghan capital Kabul on August 16, 2021, as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Taliban members took measures around the presidential palace and closed the access to prime ministry palace. (Photo by Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 16: Taliban members patrol the streets of Afghan capital Kabul on August 16, 2021, as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Taliban members took measures around the presidential palace and closed the access to prime ministry palace. (Photo by Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 16: Taliban members patrol the streets of Afghan capital Kabul on August 16, 2021, as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Taliban members took measures around the presidential palace and closed the access to prime ministry palace. (Photo by Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
US soldiers take up their positions as they secure the airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI / AFP) (Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images) -
Taliban fighters ride a motorbike along the street in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by – / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Zakeria HASHIMI has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [-] instead of [Zakeria Hashimi]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-AUGUST 16: Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
US soldiers stand guard as Afghan people wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
A volunteer carries an injured man as other people can be seen waiting at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
US soldiers stand guard at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
TOPSHOT – Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
TOPSHOT – Afghan passengers sit inside a plane as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
US Marines rest as Afghan people (not pictured) wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
TOPSHOT – Afghan people sit as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-AUGUST 16: Thousands of Afghans rush to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-AUGUST 16: Thousands of Afghans rush to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN-AUGUST 16: Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) -
A Taliban fighter stand next to poster bearing the image late Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Massoud at the Massoud Square in Kabul on August 16, 2021. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images) -
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — AUGUST 15, 2021: Afghan soldiers stayed behind guarding their post on Wazir Akbar Khan Hill for one last night in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. They slump over and drag their feet. Their plan was to leave at first light to return to their villages to normal life but they are determined to fight if the Taliban come to their homes (MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES)
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