With the Taliban taking control of the capital of the sixth province, the Pentagon: Afghans are responsible for defending their country

The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that the Afghans are responsible for defending their country, and while the Taliban movement continues to advance in northern Afghanistan and vows to storm the capital, Kabul, Doha is preparing today, Tuesday, to embrace the troika talks.

The US statements came from Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who said that the Taliban movement has made progress on the ground, adding that Washington will continue to support the Afghan forces through air strikes, and said that the Afghan forces have the military capabilities to make a difference on the ground.

"This is their military forces and these are the capitals of their provinces and their people that they must defend, and it will really be up to the leadership that they are willing to show here at this moment in particular," he added.

The US spokesman indicated that the United States had expressed concern that Pakistan would provide safe havens for the Taliban across the border.

Taliban progress

In the field, the Taliban movement continued its pressure and progress in the north of the country, as it seized control of the sixth capital of a state, at a time when the Afghan army confirms that it has achieved successes in the south.

The deputy governor of Samangan announced that Taliban fighters had taken control of the provincial capital, Aybak, about 100 km southwest of Kunduz.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said earlier that the movement is attacking the city of Mazar-i-Sharif - the capital of the state of Balkh - from 4 sides, and that the fighting continues, explaining that the latest information indicates that the movement's gunmen have entered the city from the side of Kota Barq.

On Sunday, the Taliban announced control of the city of Talukan, the center of Tahar province (in the north-east of the country) and the cities of Kunduz and Sari Pul, the two capitals of the two states of the same name (North), a day after taking control of the city of Sherberghan, the capital of Jawzjan province, which borders Turkmenistan.

Before that, the movement also took control of the city of Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz state, in the south, near the border with Iran.

Thousands fled the country's north, many of them arriving in Kabul on Monday after a 10-hour drive through several Taliban checkpoints.

The movement had threatened to storm the Afghan capital, Kabul, if negotiations with the government failed.

Kandahar (south) and Herat (west), the second and third largest cities in the country, have been subject to Taliban attacks for several days, similar to what is happening in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province (south).

On the other hand, the Afghan forces announced yesterday, Monday, that they had killed more than 579 Taliban militants, in air and ground attacks, during the past 24 hours, in an attempt to repel the movement's advance.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani decided to arm the local population to fight the movement with the intensification of battles for control of the centers of the Afghan provinces.

German position

In Germany, Defense Minister Annegret Karenbauer said that the Taliban can be defeated only with another very difficult and long combat mission.

She added that the reports from Kunduz and from all over Afghanistan are very bitter and painful, expressing her belief that the Taliban would have been hit even if the German army was still in the country.

The German minister wondered if society and parliament were ready to send the German army to war, and to stay there for at least another generation, noting that if Germany did not do that, then withdrawing with the partners is the right decision.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German parliament, Norbert Röttgen, called for a new mission for the German army to Afghanistan.

The German Foreign Ministry said that it would not accept a forced military change in the balance of power in Afghanistan. German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebar added that the sustainable and peaceful path of Afghanistan was at the top of the negotiating table in Doha, adding that her country was pressing for talks with the Taliban in Doha to be constructive.

For his part, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths called on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to abide by international humanitarian and human rights law, protect civilians, and ensure humanitarian organizations' access to those in need.

Doha talks

In a related context, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan quoted a source close to the Afghan negotiations that the State of Qatar will hold meetings on the 10th and 12th of this month for a group of countries, including Russia and the United States, with the aim of mobilizing regional and international support and consensus to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, Russian Special Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said - in a press statement - that his country's expectations are good regarding the Troika meeting on Afghanistan, which will be held in Doha today, Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Russian official emphasized that "no tangible progress in the intra-Afghan negotiations" should be expected until the fall.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan quoted a government source as saying that the head of the Afghan reconciliation committee, Abdullah Abdullah, will participate in the troika meeting.