The American flag in front of the embassy in Kabul was lowered on Sunday evening after 20 years.

Marines, who after the beginning of "Operation Enduring Freedom" had the order to take the embassy premises, which had been orphaned since 1989, had raised the stars and stripes in December 2001.

It was the same flag that had been lowered before the civil war, at the end of which the Taliban took power in Kabul for the first time.

Now the message is locked again.

Majid Sattar

Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.

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State Department spokesman Ned Price said the embassy "safe evacuation" was complete.

The entire staff is housed on the grounds of the airport in Kabul, which are secured by the American armed forces.

Ross Wilson, the acting ambassador in Kabul, was also there now.

He is to remain in the capital indefinitely with a core diplomatic team.

On Monday Taliban fighters gathered in front of the American embassy and shouted: "Allahu akbar".

There were no attempts to storm the area.

American soldiers fire shots into the air

It's one of those things about the Americans securing the airport. Taliban representatives announced that they would allow the Americans to withdraw undisturbed. But on Monday, thousands of Afghan citizens who wanted to escape the new regime penetrated the site, stormed the tarmac and climbed onto the transport planes. American soldiers fired shots into the air to control the crowd. Initially, the flights for Afghans with American visas were suspended. It was said that the priority was to fly out the American personnel. Then one would go back to examining the applications of the Afghans - many of them former helpers of the Americans. Later all flights were suspended for safety reasons.Washington had previously ordered a further 1,000 soldiers to Kabul and thus increased the security force to 6,000 men.

On Monday morning, Jonathan Finer, the deputy national security advisor in the White House, turned to the public: Afghan aid workers will be looked after in the near future. However, those who arrive at the airport first are not flown out. An orderly procedure will be followed, he told CNN. The problem: The Americans can only secure the airport, not parts of the city. And many Afghans fear that the Taliban could block access to the airport. Hence the rush. Around 2000 Afghans are said to have been flown out so far. Allegedly, 20,000 want to apply. Later on Monday, Washington announced that the American commander in Kabul had met with the Taliban to obtain assurances that they would not interfere with the evacuation operation.