Tue 31 August 2021:
On Tuesday, the Taliban celebrated their victory over the US and return to power after a two-decade conflict, by firing guns into the air and offering words of reconciliation.
Just two weeks earlier, Taliban fighters had taken Kabul and toppled the government without force as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. It was a rise to power so swift that it had taken the US and even Taliban leadership by surprise.
On Monday night, the last of 6,000 US troops in charge of a desperate evacuation attempt flew out of Kabul airport, bringing an end to a conflict that has tarnished America’s standing as a superpower.
“The last five aircraft have left, it’s over!” said Hemad Sherzad, a Taliban fighter stationed at Kabul’s international airport. “I cannot express my happiness in words … Our 20 years of sacrifice worked.”
“The world should have learned their lesson and this is the enjoyable moment of victory,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a livestream posted by a militant.
Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, similarly praised the takeover in an online video early Tuesday, saying: “Thank God all the occupiers have left our country completely”.
Taliban members stormed the airport and celebrated by firing weapons into the sky, marking an incredible comeback after US forces invaded in 2001 and destroyed the hardline group for backing al-Qaeda.
“Congratulations to Afghanistan… this victory belongs to us all,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters hours later from the runway of the airport.
Mujahid said the Taliban’s victory was a “lesson for other invaders.”
However the Taliban have repeatedly promised a more tolerant and open brand of rule compared with their first stint in power, and Mujahid continued that theme.
“We want to have good relations with the US and the world. We welcome good diplomatic relations with them all,” he said.
VIDEO showing Taliban fighters taking over Kabul International airport.
Video Credit: @nabihbulos
#Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/364WpmWPnK— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 31, 2021
In an interview with Afghan state television, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban was assessing the “technical and logistical needs of the airport”.
“If we are able to fix everything on our own, then we won’t need any help. If there is need for technical or logistics help to repair the destruction, then we might ask help from Qatar or Turkey,” he said.
The UN security council adopted a resolution on Monday, requiring the Taliban to honour a commitment to let people freely leave Afghanistan in the days ahead, and to grant access to the UN and other aid agencies.
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