World

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said it is “unlikely” the 31 August deadline to pull troops out of Afghanistan will be extended as it gets “more and more dangerous”. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “As we get closer it’s correct to say the security risk goes up, it gets more and more dangerous. “Add-on

It’s calmer outside the camp. The people, thousands of them, know that the processing that might get them on a flight to the UK can’t happen if there is a return to the chaos of the past few days. In the morning sun, people call to us as we walk, pleading for a pair of

British evacuations out of Afghanistan could not have happened without the US – and an extension depends on G7 talks with Joe Biden tomorrow, the armed forces minister has told Sky News. James Heappey said the mission to fly out thousands of British nationals and Afghans who worked for the British over the past 20

It’s only a gate. A big, reinforced iron gate protected by paratroopers, but nevertheless it is just a gate. On one side a rocky drive leads to a complex of apartments and offices and tree-lined streets filled with evacuees. On the other side, it is a vision of misery. There is a dusty, rubbish strewn

Seven people in the crowds near Kabul airport died amid the chaos of those fleeing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said in a statement on Sunday that “conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely

Nearly 4,000 Afghan and British nationals have been evacuated from Afghanistan, but fears remain many could be left behind as the US prepares to leave the country. Some 3,821 individuals have been rescued thanks to British efforts under Operation Pitting since 13 August, according to the Ministry of Defence, including 1,323 who have made it

The Taliban has begun to set out how it plans to run Afghanistan after its takeover, saying former government experts will be brought in and fighters will continue to demonstrate restraint. A Taliban official outlined on Saturday morning how separate teams will deal with internal security and the financial crisis that is set to impact

Every day the scene outside the British evacuation camp changes, every day it seems to get worse and this day there is a new sense of desperation. Collectively I think the thousands queuing outside in burning temperatures know that the clock is ticking on how long this airlift will go on for. Nobody is saying

Taliban fighters killed nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province last month, Amnesty International has said. The killings, which took place between 4 and 6 July in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district, saw six men shot and three others tortured to death. One man was strangled with his own scarf

The paras knew we wanted to get outside of the British evacuation camp where they’re protecting and processing thousands of people bound for the UK. “Do you really want to go outside?” a somewhat incredulous looking soldier said to me. “Obviously I’m not going to stop you, if you are sure.” We’d been outside already,

The Taliban have urged people to leave Kabul airport after 12 people were killed there since Sunday. They died in and around the airport either as a result of gunshots or a stampede, Taliban and NATO officials said. Hundreds are still trying to flee Afghanistan via the capital’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. But the Taliban

You can hear a noise as you approach the high iron gates that are the only way into the compound that is the centre of the British airlift operation out of Afghanistan. On either side of a narrow road, inside the walls of the compound in Kabul, exhausted British soldiers lie in the shade waiting

The collapse of Afghanistan’s government happened faster “than even the Taliban predicted”, the prime minister has told MPs, but he denied the UK had been caught “unawares”. Opening a recalled session of parliament to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, Boris Johnson claimed it was “not true” to say the UK was “unprepared” for or “did

Afghanistan has now been “emancipated” and the Taliban seeks no revenge after regaining control of the country, the group has said in a news conference. A spokesman said “we want the world to trust us” and appealed to people not to interfere in the transfer of power. He said the group’s top priority was to

The Taliban has declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join the government following a day of chaos that saw citizens descend on the airport en masse in a bid to flee their rule. Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said: “The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims. “They

Joe Biden says he stands “squarely” behind his decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan. The US president spoke after the Taliban entered Kabul and swept to power in the country – 20 years after they were removed in the US-led invasion. Mr Biden said the US mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to

Afghanistan is poised for an announcement that it is now the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, under Sharia law, after the Taliban swept to power. It follows a spokesman for the group telling AP it is holding talks aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” and the deputy leader of the group releasing a video

Since the withdrawal of Western troops, the Taliban’s advance through Afghanistan has been swift – taking control of major cities and entering the capital, Kabul, over the weekend. Pictures from Afghanistan show thousands of people fleeing their homes, seeking refuge in neighbouring Pakistan and beyond, while Taliban troops seized control of the presidential palace. Live

Algerian authorities have detained 36 people after the mob killing and burning of a man wrongly accused of starting wildfires. The fires began last Monday and have torn through the mountainous Kabyle region, killing at least 47 residents and 28 soldiers, while also destroying olive groves and livestock. Artist Djamel Ben Ismail, 38, was killed

A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 has struck western Haiti, as people fled their homes fearing that buildings might collapse. The quake struck 8km (five miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150km (93 miles) west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10km, the US Geological Survey said.