Afghanistan: Taliban take Mazar-e-Sharif

• The Taliban have captured the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif
• The government has also lost control of Logar province, just south of Kabul
• US Marines returned to Kabul to help evacuate embassy staff
• President Ghani is clinging to power, saying he is "focused on preventing further instability"

These live updates are now closed. For more on the Taliban offensive, click here.

Former Afghan ambassador: Ghani's resignation could help avert Kabul attack

Omar Samad, a former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada, told DW Saturday that President Ashraf Ghani's resignation could lead to an interim government, which he said could possibly avert a Taliban attack on Kabul.

"Apparently, the president is not still ready to step down in order to pave the way for an interim government, a transitional period for Afghanistan that would probably save Kabul from any type of attack,"  Samad said.

"The Taliban don't seem to want to attack, from what we hear ... they might use other means, other cities fell with almost no shooting going on, very few casualties. Kabul is going to be different," he added.

"The international community needs to still be committed to Afghanistan, especially on the humanitarian side, from now on," he said of the global response to the situation.

White House announces deployment of 5,000 troops 

US President Joe Biden announced he will deploy 5,000 troops "to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown" and "an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops" as well as "those at special risk from the Taliban advance."

He added, "One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me."

Biden concluded, "I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth" US president.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani regarding the "urgency of ongoing diplomatic and political efforts to reduce the violence," a State Department statement read.

Northern Afghan militia leader says Marshal Dostum is safe

Afghan militia leader Atta Mohammad Noor wrote on Facebook that both he and Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum escaped before the fall of Mazar-e-Sharif. He said what took place was "a big, organized" conspiracy and that "all government facilities and government forces were given to Taliban."

He added, "they wanted to trap Marshall Abdul Rashid Dostum and me," but "they didn't succeed." He said both men were safe but did not disclose their location.

Central province surrenders with two gunshots

Afghan lawmaker Saayed Mohammad Daud told AP the central province of Daykundi has surrendered to the Taliban without a fight.

The surrender comes after just two gunshots were heard in the provincial capital Nili prior to the provincial installations being handed over to the Taliban.

US embassy staff at Kabul airport – media reports

US media outlets CBS News and Politico report some US embassy staff have already arrived at the Kabul airport to depart the country under the protection of US troops.

Politico reports the embassy staff is being "swiftly evacuated" as the Taliban close in on Kabul.

CBS News reports, "the Embassy in Kabul is preparing to evacuate all but a handful of key staff in the next 36 hours" and that "Those who remain, will be diplomatic security, top decision-makers — including the ambassador — and security engineers who will start destroying hard-drives, taking down cameras, stripping the embassy of alarms, etc."

The State Department has yet to comment.

Taliban reach outskirts of Kabul, take the city of Mazar-e-Sharif

Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan's fourth-largest city, fell to the Taliban Saturday. Mazar-e-Sharif was home to one of the German Bundeswehr's last bases in Afghanistan.

Balk lawmaker Aba Ebrahmizada said the province's national army corps was first to surrender. He added the governor's office and all provincial installations are now in Taliban control.

Lawmaker Hoda Ahmadi told The Associated Press Saturday the Taliban had also captured Logar province, just south of Kabul, detaining local officials. She said the Taliban reached the district of Char Asyab, only 11 kilometers (7 miles) to the south of Kabul.

On the Pakistani border, Paktika's provincial capital Gardez was also said to have been seized by the Taliban. While the Taliban said they controlled the city, local lawmakers said battles with government forces were still underway in Gardez.

Both AP and DPA report Sharana, the eastern Paktika city closest to Pakistan, is now in Taliban control.

Germany holds Afghanistan crisis meeting

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and several members of her Cabinet held a crisis meeting on Saturday to address their response to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. 

At the top of their agenda was the repatriation of diplomatic staff and employees working for German organizations in Afghanistan, a government spokesperson told news agency DPA. 

German defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karenbauer said, "We are holding ready forces for this purpose and will deploy the first forces as soon as possible." 

The German parliament — the Bundestag — will also be involved in the decision, according to the spokesperson. 

Alongside Merkel in the teleconference were deputy chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, Merkel's chief of staff Helge Braun, and a representative from the Ministry for Economic Cooperation.

Qatar calls for Taliban retreat

Qatar said it had urged the Taliban to pull back their offensive during a meeting on Saturday between Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and the Taliban's political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

"The foreign minister urged the Taliban at the meeting to let up the escalation and to cease fire," the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.

Germany plans swift exit

The German Armed Forces have begun preparations for a swift evacuation of German citizens and local forces from Afghanistan, according to the news agency DPA.

Occurring in the coming week, the deployment will consist of mainly paratroopers from the Rapid Forces Division (DSK), which the Bundeswehr has on standby for exactly this kind of task as part of its National Risk and Crisis Preparedness.

The move comes after Friday's announcement from Foreign Minister Heiko Maas that Germany will reduce the number of staff at its Kabul embassy to the "absolute minimum."

Austria maintains strict policy on deporting Afghans

Austria said it will continue to send Afghans back to their home country in the event their requests for asylum fail.

Taliban advances have prompted other European Union countries to reconsider similar stances, but Vienna remains steadfast in its determination to send the asylum seekers back.

"It is easy to call for a general ban on deportations to Afghanistan, while on the other hand negating the expected flight movements. Those who need protection must receive it as close as possible to their country of origin," Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told the APA news agency.

Austria was one of six EU countries that insisted last week on their right to forcibly deport rejected Afghan asylum seekers. Three of those countries — Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands — have since reversed that policy.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the Green Party's candidate for chancellor Annalena Baerbock has warned against a repeat of Europe's failings during the Syrian civil war.

European countries were drastically unprepared for the fact that people would have to leave their country in such a dramatic situation, Baerbock told Deutschlandfunk radio.

This "catastrophic" mistake must not be repeated and "we must not wait until all 27 EU countries are ready to accept refugees," she said.

Ghani: Remobilizing troops a top priority

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is hoping to galvanize the country's armed forces as Taliban fighters edged closer to Kabul.

"In the current situation, the remobilization of our security and defense forces is our top priority, and serious steps are being taken in this regard," he said in a televised speech.

Ghani also vowed not to give up the "achievements" of the last 20 years, adding that "consultations" were taking place to try to end the conflict.

"As a historic mission, I will not let the imposed war on people cause more deaths," he said, appearing somber and sitting before an Afghan flag.

"Therefore, I have started extensive consultations inside the government with the elders, political leaders, representatives of people, and international partners on achieving a reasonable and certain political solution in which the peace and stability of the people of Afghanistan are envisaged."

"As your President, my focus is on preventing further instability, violence, and displacement of my people," Ghani said in his address to the nation.

Ghani gave no suggestion of responding to a Taliban demand that he resign before talks on a ceasefire and a political settlement take place.

Mazar-e-Sharif vulnerable

The Taliban have launched a major offensive on the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, sparking heavy fighting on its outskirts, according to Munir Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had flown to Mazar-e-Sharif on Wednesday in an attempt to rally the city's defenses, meeting with several militia commanders, including Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor. But that show of support appears to have come to nothing.

The commanders remain allied with the government, but some have come under increasing pressure to switch sides, if only for their own survival. Ismail Khan, a powerful former warlord who had tried to defend Herat, was captured by the Taliban when the insurgents seized the city after two weeks of fighting.

Taliban take Logar province

An Afghan lawmaker says the Taliban have captured Logar province, just 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of the capital, Kabul.

Homa Ahmadi, a lawmaker from Logar, says that the Taliban now control the entire province.

US marines arrive as Taliban edges towards Kabul

The Taliban have tightened their territorial grip around Kabul, as US Marines returned to help with emergency evacuations from Afghanistan.

With the country's second-and third-largest cities now under Taliban command, Kabul has effectively become besieged, and may be just weeks away from falling.

Insurgent fighters are now camped just 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, leaving the United States and other countries scrambling to airlift their nationals out of Kabul ahead of a feared Taliban assault.

Taliban takes control of radio station

The Taliban have released a video declaring the takeover of the main radio station in the southern city of Kandahar, renaming it the Voice of Sharia, or Islamic law.

In the footage, an insurgent said all employees were present and would broadcast news, political analysis and recitations of the Quran. It appears the station will no longer play music.

jsi/dj (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)