“They literally sold us out, there was no government resistance.”
Afghans in Herat and Kandahar express shock and anger at the swift fall of their cities to the Taliban aje.io/xwtfsj
Taliban launches multi-pronged assault on Mazar-i-Sharif as it resumes a rapid offensive to capture more cities and provinces across the country.
🔴 Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates: aje.io/6u8c5t
“The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: seizing power through military force is a losing proposition.”
- Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general ⤵️ aje.io/fdyfgm
BREAKING: Afghan President Ghani vows to fight Taliban offensive aje.io/fh8u8h
Transition to different government still a possibility:
“This is something that the Afghan government proposed a few days ago ... this solution could end the current violence” - Victoria Fontan, American University of Afghanistan.
President Ashraf Ghani said remobilising the Afghan National Security Forces was a “top priority” and he would find ways to help the thousands of people displaced by fighting ⤵️ aje.io/q4f2zx
President Ghani no longer ‘in control’, says analyst:
“It’s not about President Ghani anymore, it’s about making the transition as bloodlessly, as orderly and as swiftly as possible,” says Haroun Rahimi, a law professor.
Israel orders more forced expulsions from southern Gaza City, while the UN estimates 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18.
Israeli fighter jets have bombed and destroyed a water desalination plant in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City in the north, according to an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent on the ground.
An Israeli court extends Dr. Hussam Abu Safia's detention for six months, citing a “security threat,” despite legal teams arguing he was just doing his job as director and paediatrician of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Israel’s military says a ground invasion of southern Gaza’s Rafah is under way and troops are pushing into the north near the town of Beit Lahiya and central areas.
Hamas calls Israel’s strikes a ‘treacherous’ attack on defenceless Palestinian civilians, accusing it of trying to overturn the Gaza ceasefire. Netanyahu says he acted due to stalled truce talks.
Report says at least 308 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli air attacks across Gaza. The number of people killed so far included 154 in the northern part of the territory.
Israel's ongoing blockade of aid to Gaza has left roughly a million Palestinian children 'living without the basic necessities they need to survive,' according to UNICEF.