UN Security Council mull condemning Taliban after group scores military gains: report

Two countries of the 15-member United Nations Security Council are mulling a formal statement to condemn the Taliban as the insurgent group makes major inroads in Afghanistan.

According to a copy of the draft viewed by Reuters, Norway and Estonia have put together a statement. The U.N. body needs to agree on it before it can be issued, the wire service reported.

“The Security Council condemns in the strongest terms possible the armed attacks by Taliban forces on cities and towns across Afghanistan, resulting in high numbers of civilian casualties,” the drafted statement said, according to Reuters.

The text states the Security Council “strongly affirms that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is not recognized at the United Nations and declares that it does not and will not support the establishment of any government in Afghanistan imposed through military force or restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

The drafted resolution also notes that the U.N. Security Council will be ready to take action against those involved in the attacks in Afghanistan “including those involved in attacks targeting civilians, and individuals or entities engaging in, or providing support for, acts that threaten peace, stability or security.”

The internal U.N. deliberations come after the Taliban captured more than 10 provincial capitals following the U.S.’s withdrawal of troops from the region.

The Taliban succeeded in taking over Kandahar and Herat, the two biggest cities after Kabul. 

The insurgent group’s progress in the region is a blow to the Biden administration, after the president said earlier this year that a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan was “highly unlikely” after U.S. troops were removed. 

Earlier Thursday, the State Department announced that the Department of Defense would be deploying military personnel to Afghanistan to draw down some of its embassy staff in Kabul.

The news followed a security alert issued by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, telling all U.S. citizens to leave the country “immediately.”

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that 3,000 U.S. troops already in the Middle East would be sent back to the country — adding to the 650 or so who were still there — within the next 24 to 48 hours to “provide safety and secure movement of the reduction of civilian personnel out of the embassy.”