The Taliban are taking over city after city and appear to be able to reach the capital Kabul faster than expected.
To date, government forces have failed to protect the country from the advance of the fundamentalist group.
The government soldiers should be well trained, right? The United States has been training them for 20 years.
- Only a small group.
The construction of armies and police has to a large extent been a labor market policy measure.
They have wanted to get young unemployed men into a state structure.
And we see the result of that now, says Klas Bjurström, senior strategic adviser at the Swedish Afghanistan Committee.
He adds that a fear spreads among everyone and the focus shifts from fighting to fleeing.
- I think there are many who are desperate right now.
You choose to protect your own families and escape.