Afghanistan updates
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Thousands of Afghans have fled from the Taliban this year during the Islamist group’s push to take over the country.
The Taliban launched a big attack in southern Helmand and six other provinces in May, three weeks after President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
The impact was swift. In late July, US officials estimated that the militant group controlled half of Afghanistan’s 420 rural districts, up from just a fifth a month earlier. The group seized control of the country after a rapid onslaught last week.
Around 400,000 Afghans have been internally displaced within the country so far this year, the UN estimates.
Some who fled the fighting will recall the Taliban’s time in power in the 1990s when it used violence to punish dissenters and suppress women’s rights.
Many families have sought refuge in makeshift camps that sprung up as waves of people fled their homes. Others, such as those who fled northern provinces in early August to seek safety in Kabul, took shelter in open spaces such as public parks.
The fighting has separated some families © Paula Bronstein/Getty 
The Taliban’s push in Afghanistan’s northern provinces prompted many to seek refuge in Kabul © Stringer/Reuters
Large numbers have fled to neighbouring Iran in recent months. with some passing through it and continuing westwards on to Turkey.
Afghans have tried to enter Iran acoss its Southeastern frontier into the province of Sistan and Baluchestan © Iranian red Crescent/AFP/Getty
The crisis in Afghanistan has sparked fears of a large influx of refugees in Turkey © Chris McGrath/Getty
The crisis in Afghanistan has sparked fears of a large influx of refugees in Turkey © Chris McGrath/Getty
The Taliban faced little resistance from Afghanistan’s army. Young Afghan men who spoke to the Associated Press on August 17 in the town of Tatvan, eastern Turkey, said they had deserted the army.
Most of Afghanistan’s US-equipped and trained army units offered little resistance when faced with Taliban fighters © Emrah Gurel/AP
Pakistan to the east has also experienced an influx of migrants arriving on foot. The Taliban’s return to power after a 20-year hiatus risks triggering a flood of such refugees and a resurgence of domestic terrorism linked to the insurgents, warn analysts.
A stream of Afghan arrivals has reached border towns in Pakistan in recent months © Abdul Khaliq Achakzai//Reuters
Kabul’s international airport was overrun by desperate Afghans trying to escape hours after the city fell to the Taliban. Images from the airport showed hundreds of people running alongside a US military transport planes filled with US and foreign nationals. Some climbed on as it moved down the runway.
The international airport in Kabul became a focal point for people seeking to escape the country © Wakil Kohsari/AFP/Getty 
Videos circulated widely on social media showed people trying to cling to a US Air Force plane © Verfied UGC/AP
Some desperate parents passed their babies to US soldiers over barbed wire along the perimeter wall at the airport.
Images of babies being passed to soldiers indicate the desperation of people to allow their children to escape Taliban rule © Omar Haidari/Reuters
A lucky few made it on to planes that evacuated them.
Some Afghans who braved the chaos at Kabul’s airport were able to fly out © Bundeswahr/AP
Some Afghans who braved the chaos at Kabul’s airport were able to fly out © Bundeswahr/AP