Defence`s Feeds

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council briefing on Afghanistan

As desperate Afghans were trying to escape the Taliban and board planes, during chaotic scenes at Kabul airport on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for international unity on Afghanistan, in a briefing to an emergency session of the Security Council.

Hundreds of boys and girls have been killed or injured over the past two years amid the deteriorating political and security situation in Afghanistan, according to the latest UN report on Children and Armed Conflict, which was issued on Monday, a day after the Taliban consolidated control over the country.

U.S. President Joe Biden is defending his decision to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan despite the quickly unfolding calamity there, vowing not to pass on the problem to a fifth U.S. president.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he stands "squarely" behind his decision to withdraw U.S. military forces from Afghanistan in his first public comments since the Taliban took full control of the South Asian country.

The Afghan capital's international airport was frenetic Monday with thousands of Afghans looking for a way out of Kabul.

A day after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban without a fight, U.S. and other foreign forces continue to protect and hold Kabul's international airport, where panicked crowds have fled to seek refuge from the Taliban.

A roundup compiled by VOA of some reaction by U.S. lawmakers and analysts to President Joe Biden's speech on Afghanistan:

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that the "world is watching" Afghanistan during these "pivotal" days, as he called on the Taliban to exercise "utmost restraint" to protect Afghan lives and allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.

With the Taliban seizing control of Afghanistan, Turkey seeks to avert a refugee exodus, with the country already hosting over four million refugees, with about 120,000 of them from Afghanistan, according the United Nations.

Men with Kalashnikovs roamed the streets of Kabul on foot, in security vehicles and on motorcycles Monday as the insurgents solidified their hold on Afghanistan's capital.

The rapid Taliban offensive across Afghanistan that culminated Sunday with the flight of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was meticulously planned and executed with ruthless efficiency, say Western military experts.

The Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and imposed a strict form of Islamic law on the country. Here are some key facts about the group's beliefs and history.

Taliban fighters patrolled the streets of Kabul on Monday, a day after the group swept into the Afghan capital and President Ashraf Ghani left the country.

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The Australian Defence Force will be deploying more than 250 personnel to support urgent Australian Government efforts to evacuate Australian citizens and visa holders from Afghanistan.

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President Joe Biden today addressed the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the actions U.S. troops are now taking to facilitate the departure of allies and Afghan partners. He spoke from the White House.

Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban, and U.S. troops now in the country are working to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport to enable the safe departure of U.S., allied and Afghan partners from the country.

Seven people have been reported killed as thousands of Afghans flooded the runways and terminals of the Kabul airport amid chaos, attempting to leave after Taliban militants seized control of the country ahead of the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces after a presence of nearly two decades.