#US government urges Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately

The United States embassy in Afghanistan urged all United States citizens to leave as soon as possible as violence continues to escalate in the country.

“The US Embassy urges US citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options,” the embassy said in a Saturday statement. “Given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul,”

Embassy staff whose jobs can be performed outside the country bolted in April. The State Department ranks Afghanistan as a Level 4: Do Not Travel country due to coronavirus but also terrorism, crime, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict.

After two decades of war in the country, President Biden made the decision to fully withdraw US forces by the end of August. The pullout comes just days before America will mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

With US soldiers heading out, the country has slipped closer to Civil War. The Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist religious sect that ruled Afghanistan before 9/11, has recaptured large swaths of the nation.

On Friday, the group captured the city of Zaranj, the capital of Afghanistan’s Nimroz province. US intelligence agencies believe the whole country could fall under their control within six months of the US departure.