<Anchor> In
Afghanistan, Islamic rebels are rapidly taking over major cities. As the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan began in earnest, there were even warnings that the capital, Kabul, would soon fall to the Taliban.
This is reporter Jeong Hye-kyung.
<Reporter> The
Taliban, an Islamic militant group, started a full-fledged occupation war in Afghanistan on the 6th.
The Taliban took control of the second and third major cities of Kandahar and Herat on the night of the 12th local time, starting with the southwestern province of Nimroz.
More than 15 of the 34 capital cities have fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
With the Afghan government forces appearing helpless in the Taliban, the withdrawal of international allies such as the United States, Britain and Germany is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.
Western countries, including the United States, are deploying special forces one after another at Kabul Airport for the safe evacuation of their own citizens.
[Ned Price/US State Department Spokesperson: The Department of Defense has temporarily placed additional troops at Hamid-Karzai Airport in Kabul to facilitate the reduction of the (resident) manpower.] The
US does more than help the Afghan government forces in the form of arms and food supplies. A situation that draws a line in
But as security conditions worsen, locals who have cooperated with foreign garrison are facing threats of retaliation.
[Wazma Froch / Afghan women's rights activist: We are constantly asking anyone who can help us. Please help us get out of Afghanistan.]
Testimonies are continuing that atrocities are taking place against government officials, soldiers and residents in the Taliban-occupied areas, and there are warnings that the capital, Kabul, could be captured within 90 days.
(Video editing: Park Ji-in)