Taliban announces the end of the war in Afghanistan

The Taliban announces the end of the war in Afghanistan and countries call for allowing those who want to leave the country.

After taking control of the capital, Kabul, and the presidential palace in it, and the escape of the president and senior officials, the Taliban announced the end of the war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban declared the end of the war in Afghanistan after seizing the presidential palace in the capital, Kabul, with the departure of the foreign forces led by the United States and the rush of Western countries to evacuate their citizens.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered the city, saying he had preferred to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans crowded into Kabul airport hoping to leave the country.

"This is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have seen the fruits of their efforts and sacrifices over 20 years... Thank God the war is over in the country," said Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office, in a statement to Aj television.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country in a lightning campaign that ended in Kabul, while the Afghan forces that the United States and its allies had spent billions of dollars to train and arm over the years disappeared.

Aj broadcast a video clip that it said was of Taliban leaders inside the presidential palace, along with dozens of militants.

Naeem said that the shape of the new regime in Afghanistan will soon become clear, adding that the movement does not want to live in isolation, and called for peaceful relations with the international community.

He added: "We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people. We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target any party, and we do not wish to harm others."

A commander in the movement told Reuters that the militants are regrouping from various provinces, adding that the Taliban will not form a new structure of governance until after the departure of foreign forces.

The Taliban official, who asked not to be named, added that the movement's fighters in Kabul were instructed not to intimidate civilians, and to allow them to resume their normal activities.

"Normal life will go on in a much better way and that's all I can say for now," he said.

A US State Department spokesman said early Monday that all US embassy staff in Kabul, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been transferred to the airport, pending their evacuation, adding that the US flag had been lowered from the embassy compound.

Hundreds at Kabul airport

Hundreds of Afghans invaded the airport runways in the dark with their belongings, hoping to reach places of the last commercial planes to leave the country before US forces patrolled the airspace on Sunday.

The US State Department said late Sunday that more than 60 countries issued a joint statement stressing the need to open the way for Afghans and foreigners wishing to leave Afghanistan and to keep airports and border crossings open.

The US government and more than 60 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Qatar and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement that "those in positions of authority across Afghanistan have responsibility - and accountability - to protect lives and property and to restore immediate security and order."

The statement added: "The Afghan people deserve to live in peace, security and dignity. We in the international community are ready to help them."

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted: "The United States joins the international community in stressing the need to allow Afghans and foreigners to leave. Roads, airports and crossings should remain open. Calm should be maintained."

The US State Department indicated that other signatories to the joint statement include Yemen, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the European Union's representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

A new video has been released a day after Taliban extremists announced the capture and conquest of Kabul.

In this video, the deputy leader of the Taliban has said that now is the time for the people of Afghanistan to do something and make their lives better.

Mullah Baradar Akhund, sitting with other Taliban fighters, has said in this video- "Now the time of trial has come, we will bring peace to the whole country, we will try as much as we can to improve the lives of the people."

He also said, "We did not expect the way we reached here and the place we are at was not expected either."

A Taliban official has also claimed that the situation in the country is absolutely peaceful and there is no conflict anywhere.

This official told the news agency Reuters, "According to the reports we are getting, the situation is peaceful."