On August 15, the Taliban captured Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, soon after President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country for the UAE. The Islamic fundamentalist group seized power in Afghanistan just weeks before U.S., troops were set to exit the country. Afghanistan was under the Taliban control from 1996 to 2001, before the latter was driven out by U.S. troops as part of its campaign against terrorism following the 9/11 attacks. In 2020, former U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, and stuck to the pact by gradually reducing the troop levels.
Meanwhile, many regions came under attack by the Taliban. Though new President Joe Biden delayed that deadline, he eventually ordered the complete withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from the country by August 31. Ever since gaining power, the Taliban has re-imposed various restrictions on women such as barring them from most jobs and prohibiting them from travelling without a male escort. Fearing repression by the Taliban, thousands of Afghans surged near the Kabul airport to flee the country. On August 30, the U.S. withdrew its last remaining troops from Kabul, ending 20 years of operations in Afghanistan.
The number of civilians killed and injured in the conflict surged in the first six months of 2021 from attacks by both Taliban and Afghan government security forces, the latter primarily from airstrikes. The ISKP carried out numerous attacks on civilian facilities, including schools and mosques, killing hundreds, most of them members of Afghanistan’s Hazara community. ISKP attacks continued after the Taliban takeover.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought authorization to resume his investigation but stated he would focus on alleged crimes by the Taliban and ISKP, and deprioritize those committed by the US military and CIA and former Afghan government security forces.
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