Afghans flee Taliban sweep of provinces

Over 400,000 people have been internally displaced, leaving 18 million in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations humanitarian agency UNICEF said on Wednesday (August 11).

Taliban insurgents captured the city of Ghazni on Thursday (August 12), the ninth provincial capital they have seized in a week, as U.S. intelligence said the capital, Kabul, just 150 km to the northeast, could fall to the insurgents within 90 days.

Fighting has also been intense in the southern city of Kandahar. The city hospital had received scores of bodies of members of the armed forces and some wounded Taliban, a doctor said late on Wednesday.

The speed of the Taliban advance has sparked widespread recriminations over U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. troops and leave the Afghan government to fight alone.