Tense Kabul residents wait for Taliban control of capital

Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday and said they were awaiting a “peaceful transfer” of the city after promising not to take it by force as some panicked residents raced to leave.

Kabul:Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday and said they were awaiting a “peaceful transfer” of the city after promising not to take it by force as some panicked residents raced to leave.

But on the streets of the Kabul, others were hopeful not much would change.

"They said everyone can go to school, the girls, the boys. Life is normal," a man identified only as Abdulwahab told Sky News.

A young woman named Miriam was defiant in the face of the Taliban's taking of the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman in the capital.

"I'm here. Even if they kill me today, if they identify me, I will not care about them," she said.

In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country, even though they had some air support from the US military.

The lightning speed of the push has shocked many and raised questions about why Afghan forces crumbled despite years of US training and billions of dollars spent.

Just days ago, an American military assessment estimated it would be a month before the capital would come under insurgent pressure.

Taliban negotiators headed to the presidential palace Sunday to discuss the transfer, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

It remained unclear when that transfer would take place.

AP