Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced that the movement's militants had taken control of the provinces of Ghor, Herat, Kandahar, Helmand and Badghis last night, bringing the number of provinces that the Taliban say they have under their control to 15.

The Taliban released pictures showing what it said was its militants' control of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, an Afghan security source told Al Jazeera that the government still controls the airports of Kandahar and Herat and the two Afghan army bases in them.

A US official expected the Afghan capital, Kabul, to fall into the hands of the movement's militants within a month, as its rapid advance towards the capital continues.

The New York Times quoted a US official as saying that the Taliban's possible control of the capital of the province of Balkh would lead to the fall of the Afghan government next month, adding that the scenario of the fall of the Afghan capital within thirty days could be avoided.

The newspaper revealed that Washington is conducting negotiations with the Taliban to extract guarantees that the movement will not attack the US embassy in Kabul, if it invades the Afghan capital.

It quoted US officials as saying that the US administration is concerned that the evacuation of its embassy in Kabul will motivate the departure of other diplomatic missions and the absence of support and thus the collapse of the government.

The New York Times said that the US envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, expressed his hope to persuade Taliban leaders to keep the US embassy open and safe.

The US envoy linked the embassy's opening to continuing to provide US aid to the Afghan government when the movement becomes part of it in the future.


Embassy move

In this context, the American television network "CNN" quoted a US official and two other sources as saying that the United States is considering moving its embassy in Kabul to the city's airport in order to ensure the ability to get the diplomats out faster.

For his part, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced that the ministry will send about three thousand American soldiers to Kabul airport to help secure the departure of civilians from the American embassy there.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price also announced that the United States has decided to reduce its diplomatic presence in the Afghan capital in light of the security situation in the country.

Price indicated in a press conference that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin spoke Thursday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to coordinate Washington's plans to reduce its diplomatic presence in Kabul, noting that the US embassy is still open.

According to a Pentagon statement, the two ministers stressed that the United States remains committed to maintaining a strong diplomatic and security relationship with the Government of Afghanistan.

The statement confirmed that the two ministers indicated that the procedures for granting visas to Afghans cooperating with the US forces in Afghanistan will be accelerated.

A US State Department statement also stated that Blinken discussed by phone with his Canadian and German counterparts and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) the US plan to reduce its civilian presence in Kabul in light of recent developments.


evacuating nationals

The Associated Press quoted an informed source as saying that Canada intends to send special forces to Afghanistan to help evacuate its embassy in the capital, Kabul, before it is closed.

The agency quoted the source that the Canadian special forces will be deployed in Afghanistan, where the evacuation of Canadian employees in Kabul and Afghan collaborators will be before the closure of the Canadian embassy.

It is noteworthy that Canada deployed about 40,000 troops to Afghanistan over a 13-year period, as part of the NATO mission before withdrawing in 2014.

In a related context, the Canadian government announced the resettlement of 800 Afghans and their families who worked as aides to the Canadian forces in Afghanistan, and that the implementation of the special program to resettle the rest of the collaborators in Afghanistan is being accelerated.

For its part, the British government announced that it would send 600 soldiers to Afghanistan to help evacuate its citizens after the deteriorating security situation there.

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said that the military would be sent to Afghanistan for a short period in response to the escalation of violence in the country, and that they were expected to arrive in the coming days.


Biden's criticism

CNN reported that Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, asked the administration of President Joe Biden to brief the House on the situation in Afghanistan, after the House returned to session on the 23rd of this month.

The Republican minority leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, accused the Biden administration of cowardice, weakness in the face of the Taliban, and contentment with tweets, as he put it.

In a statement, McConnell said Afghanistan was heading toward a massive catastrophe as the administration's efforts were focused on defending what he described as Biden's reckless policy.

McConnell described the administration's efforts as being focused on appealing to what he described as Islamic extremists not to target the Washington embassy.

The leader of the Republican minority in the US Senate compared the expected victory of the Taliban, which may be worse than the fall of the Vietnamese city of Saigon in the hands of the communists.

McConnell called Biden to provide air support to Afghan forces.

He warned that al-Qaeda and the Taliban would celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by burning the US embassy in Kabul, according to him.


Doha Conference

In terms of diplomatic moves, the international conference on Afghanistan, which was held in Doha, confirmed that the participants will not recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed by the use of military force.

The final statement urged the two sides of the escalation in Afghanistan to stop the violence and take steps to build confidence and accelerate efforts to reach a political settlement as an urgent issue.

The statement stressed the importance of working in accordance with the guidelines for the settlement that the two sides converged on regarding the mechanism of government submission and respect for international law.

The statement expressed its concerns over reports that speak of the repercussions of the violence that has left large numbers of victims, destruction of infrastructure, and the occurrence of extrajudicial killings, which would make the conflict sustainable and reconciliation more difficult.

A US State Department statement said that Secretary Anthony Blinken praised, during a telephone conversation with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Doha's role in supporting efforts to reach a just and lasting negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.

The statement added that Blinken, during his call with his Qatari counterpart, expressed his appreciation for the strategic partnership between the two countries.


international pressure

In the same regard, Estonia and Norway distributed a draft statement to members of the UN Security Council, urging the Taliban to immediately cease attacks across Afghanistan and end the violence.

The draft statement called on the Afghan government and the Taliban to engage without delay in negotiations to achieve immediate and sustainable progress for a comprehensive and just political settlement.

He pointed out that the current absence of the Taliban movement's efforts to reduce violence and the failure to make efforts to push the negotiations forward, will negatively affect the Security Council's review of the international sanctions list.

The draft statement also affirmed the Council's readiness to impose additional measures on those responsible for violations or abuses of human rights or international humanitarian law, and those involved in attacks targeting civilians.


European warning

For its part, the European Union warned the Taliban that if they seized power by force, they would face isolation and lack of recognition by the international community.

In a statement issued by the High Commissioner for Foreign Policy, the European bloc called on the movement to immediately stop acts of violence and resume negotiations in a constructive and systematic manner.

The statement considered that the Taliban's military operations directly contradict its obligations under the Doha Agreement.

He also called on the Afghan government to settle the political differences between the parties concerned with the crisis and to ensure their representation in the government.

In turn, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about developments in Afghanistan, including the fighting in Herat and Kandahar.

Dujarric stressed that the United Nations remains hopeful that the talks in Doha will lead to a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan.


Urgent and decisive decision

For his part, the head of the Afghan Reconciliation Committee, Abdullah Abdullah, called on the UN Security Council to discuss the issue of Afghanistan and its security and humanitarian repercussions in its emergency meeting, and to take an urgent and decisive decision to address the country's crisis.

Abdullah said that the situation in Afghanistan is critical and that the achievements of the Afghan people in recent years are under threat.

He added that the recent Taliban attacks on cities resulted in killing and wounding thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera correspondent in Kabul, Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakul said that the government is working in three phases to restore the areas controlled by the Taliban.

Mirzakul called on the Taliban movement to stop the violence and sit down with the Afghan authorities to work on establishing a coalition government acceptable to all.

On the other hand, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office and a member of the movement's delegation to the Doha negotiations confirmed that the movement will not impose anything by force on the Afghan people, noting during an interview with Al-Jazeera that most states voluntarily join the ranks of the movement.

Naim added that the movement is keen on balanced relations with all countries, stressing that the door to a political solution is still open.