Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged government forces Sunday to maintain security in Kabul, after the Taliban paused their sweeping advance on the outskirts of the capital, causing widespread panic.
"It is our responsibility and we will do it in the best possible manner. Anyone who thinks about chaos, plunder or looting will be tackled with force," he said in a video released to media.
Later in the day, he left the country, hours after the Taliban ordered its fighters to wait on the outskirts of the capital following an astonishing rout of government forces.
"The former Afghan president has left the nation," Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the peace process, said in a video on his Facebook page.
