U.S. embassy urges Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Thursday urged Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately as the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate.

“The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul,” it added.

The security alert comes days after a similar notice was issued by the embassy on Saturday. It also came as Taliban militants captured Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province earlier in the day, bringing the number of provincial capitals captured by the insurgent group to 10 in less than a week.

The security situation in the war-torn country has been deteriorating since the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops starting on May 1. Many Afghan cities and about half of the country’s 34 provinces in recent weeks have seen heavy battles and street fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants.

President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military to end its mission in Afghanistan by the end of this month. The U.S. Central Command said over 95 percent of the drawdown had been completed.

Biden said on Tuesday that the United States would continue to provide air support and military equipment to Afghanistan while noting Afghan forces must “fight for themselves, fight for their nation.”

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Xinhua