Headlines
Afghanistan: War is Over, Taliban Declares, Takes over Kabul
The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over, after taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul while Western countries scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Islamist militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded Kabul airport.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday.
“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen.
“They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,” Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV.
“Thanks to God, the war is over in the country,” he added.
It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces trained for years and equipped by the U.S. and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.
Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed fighters.
Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.
“We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,” he said, adding: “We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others.”
A Taliban leader told Reuters the insurgents were regrouping from different provinces, and would wait until foreign forces had left before creating a new governance structure.
The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters had been “ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do nothing to scare civilians”.
“Normal life will continue in a much better way, that’s all I can say for now,” he told Reuters in a message.
Central Kabul streets were largely deserted early on a sunny Monday as waking residents pondered their future.
“I’m in a complete state of shock,” said Sherzad Karim Stanekzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop to guard it.
“I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who will now come to Kabul.”
The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the Taliban to uphold human rights and said the world was watching: “It’s going to be all about the actions, not the words.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said early on Monday that all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been transferred to Kabul airport, mostly by helicopter, to await evacuation and the American flag had been lowered and removed from the embassy compound.
Hundreds of Afghans invaded the airport’s runways in the dark, pulling luggage and jostling for a place on one of the last commercial flights to leave before U.S. forces took over air traffic control on Sunday.
“This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated while we wait in complete uncertainty,” said Rakhshanda Jilali, a human rights activist who was trying to get to Pakistan, told Reuters in a message from the airport.
U.S. forces managing the airport fired into the air to stop Afghans surging onto the tarmac to try to board a military flight, a U.S. official said.
Dozens of men tried to clamber up onto an overhead departure gangway to board a plane while hundreds of others milled about, a video posted on social media showed.
The Pentagon on Sunday authorised another 1,000 troops to help evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who worked for them, expanding its security presence on the ground to almost 6,000 troops within the next 48 hours.
More than 60 western countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, and Japan, issued a joint statement saying all Afghans and international citizens who wanted to leave must be allowed to do so.
Western nations, including France, Germany, and New Zealand said they were working to get citizens as well as some Afghan employees out.
Russia said it saw no need to evacuate its embassy for the time being while Turkey said its embassy would continue operations.
In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul residents.
Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his location, a coward for leaving them in chaos.
Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices in their imposition of sharia religious law.
During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and punishments such as stoning, whipping, and hanging were administered.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, and expressed particular concern about the future of women and girls.
In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said the chaos was caused by a failure of leadership.
Biden has faced rising domestic criticism after sticking to a plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end the U.S. military mission by Aug. 31.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Biden for what he called a “shameful failure of American leadership”.
“Terrorists and major competitors like China are watching the embarrassment of a superpower laid low,” McConnell said.
Naeem said the Taliban would adopt an international policy of two-way non-interference.
“We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed experience,” he said.
Reuters/NAN
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is among dozens of African leaders stranded in Guinea-Bissau after the military seized power and suspended the country’s electoral process on Wednesday.
Jonathan is part of a 36-member joint election observation mission of the African Union (AU), ECOWAS and the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) deployed to monitor Sunday’s presidential election.
The coup unfolded after both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, separately claimed victory even though the electoral commission had not released official results. Soldiers subsequently took control of state institutions, closed all borders and shut down airports.
In a joint statement, the observer mission said it was “deeply concerned” about the military intervention, calling it “regrettable” that the takeover came shortly after meeting the two top candidates, who had assured them they would respect the will of the voters.
The mission urged the AU and ECOWAS to take urgent steps to restore constitutional order and demanded the immediate release of all detained officials.
The delegation is scheduled to depart Guinea-Bissau on November 29, though it is unclear whether the airport shutdown will affect their exit.
Amid rising attacks and abductions by gunmen and suspected terrorists, President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, declared a nationwide security emergency.
In a statement he personally issued, President Tinubu said: “Today, in view of the emerging security situation, I have decided to declare a nationwide security emergency and order additional recruitment into the Armed Forces.”
By this order, he said both the police and the army have been authorised to recruit more operatives, saying: “The police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total to 50,000.”
The president also directed that the police could now use National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as training depots, noting that although he had previously approved the upgrade of police training institutions, the new security reality required immediate expansion of capacity.
He further ordered that officers being withdrawn from VIP guard duties must undergo crash retraining.
According to him, the exercise is to “debrief them and deliver more efficient police services when deployed to security-challenged areas of the country.”
Tinubu also empowered the Department of State Services (DSS) to activate fully the forest security architecture.
“The DSS also has my authority to immediately deploy all the forest guards already trained to flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests,” he said, adding that the agency had his directive to recruit additional personnel.
“There will be no more hiding places for agents of evil,” the President said.
Calling the situation “a national emergency,” the President said the federal government was responding by “deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas”.
He appealed to citizens to play their part, saying “the times require all hands on deck. As Nigerians, we should all get involved in securing our nation.”
President Tinubu commended security forces for recent breakthroughs, including the rescue of abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi and the 38 worshippers seized in Kwara State.
“We will continue to sustain the efforts to rescue the remaining students of Catholic School in Niger State and other Nigerians still being held hostage,” he assured.
To military personnel across the country, he delivered a firm charge, saying “I commend your courage and your sacrifice… I charge you to remain resolute, to restore peace across all theatres of operation, and to uphold the highest standards of discipline and integrity. There must be no compromise, no collusion, and no negligence.”
He added that his administration would support them fully to succeed.
Tinubu also pledged federal support to states with existing security outfits and urged the National Assembly to begin a legislative review to allow states that require state police to establish them.
He cautioned state governments against operating boarding schools in remote, unsecured areas, and advised religious institutions to “constantly seek police and other security protection when they gather for prayers, especially in vulnerable areas.”
The President reiterated his administration’s stance on resolving farmer-herder clashes, pointing to the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Development.
He urged herder groups to abandon open grazing and embrace ranching, saying: “I call on all herder associations to take advantage of it, end open grazing and surrender illegal weapons. Ranching is now the path forward.”
Tinubu expressed sympathy to families affected by recent attacks in Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe and Kwara States.
He also paid tribute to fallen soldiers, including Brigadier-General Musa Uba.
“Those who want to test our resolve should never mistake our restraint for weakness. This administration has the courage and determination to keep the country safe and ensure our citizens live in peace,” he warned.
In a rallying call to Nigerians, the President urged unity and vigilance, saying “I urge you not to give in to fear and never succumb to despair… Report suspicious activities. Cooperate with security agencies. We are in this fight together, and together we shall win.”
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of three non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
The nominees are Kayode Aare (Ogun State), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa State), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo State).
The letter was read during plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio has, therefore, directed the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to review the nominations and report back to the chamber within one week.
This is the first list of ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate by Tinubu since he became the President on May 29, 2023.
A former Nigerian External Affairs Minister, Bolaji Akinyemi, had argued that, despite internet access to information, diplomacy still required personal ambassadorial contact.
“I believe credible appointments should be made to the vacant ambassadorial posts. We need to fill them,” Akinyemi said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today in September.
“The absence of ambassadors does not deny us information. But diplomacy runs on ambassadorial contact, the interaction between governments and ambassadors,” he added.
The Federal Government had said that several Nigerian diplomatic and consular missions abroad were facing financial and operational challenges, ranging from unpaid staff salaries to mounting debts owed to landlords and service providers.
But while dismissing recent criticisms by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) about delays in ambassadorial appointments in June, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigeria’s diplomatic missions remain fully operational and effectively represented by seasoned foreign service officers, including experienced chargés d’affaires.
“The appointment of ambassadors is a sovereign function—not a matter to be rushed for political convenience or partisan appeasement.
“President Tinubu, in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda, is committed to reforming the foreign service architecture to ensure that future postings are driven by merit, competence, national interest, and strategic alignment—not patronage or expediency.
“Nigeria is neither voiceless nor inactive in international affairs,” it said in a statement by the Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alkasim Abdulkadir.
The ministry, while acknowledging long-standing structural and funding challenges that predate the current administration, said that Nigerian diplomats continued to serve with distinction, often under difficult circumstances.
In September 2023, Tinubu recalled the country’s ambassadors.
He had earlier recalled Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Ishola who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021.
