Ashraf Ghani concedes defeat to Taliban, leaves Afghanistan to avoid ‘bloodshed’

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has conceded defeat to the Taliban, saying he had left the country to “avoid bloodshed” because the Taliban had entered the capital, Kabul.

Three senior Taliban sources said the Taliban had now entered Kabul, taken control of the presidential palace, and were holding security meetings in the capital.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that if he had stayed there, he believed that “many people would have been martyred and Kabul would have been destroyed”.

“The Taliban have won and are now responsible for the dignity, property and security of their compatriots,” he said in a statement on social media.

“They are now facing a new historical test, will they preserve their name and Afghanistan’s honour or will they prefer other places and networks,” he said.

Ashraf Ghani did not specify which country he had gone to, but according to Tolo News, Afghanistan’s largest media group, he had gone to Tajikistan.

Earlier, Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, confirmed Ashraf Ghani’s departure from the country and criticized him for leaving the public in a state of disarray.

“He has left Afghanistan at a difficult time, God will ask him,” Abdullah said in an online video statement.

He called on the Afghan security forces to play their part in maintaining peace in the country.

Abdullah also appealed to the Taliban not to harm anyone or to act in a way that would cause chaos in Kabul.

He said that Ashraf Ghani has left the country in difficult times, for which he will be remembered in history.

Afghanistan’s acting defence minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, was also critical, saying “they tied our hands and sold the country.”