Afghanistan ‘Ask Me Anything’ live with defence editor Kim Sengupta as The Taliban closes in on Kabul

As The Taliban starts to encircle Kabul, our defence editor Kim Sengupta will be taking questions about the current situation live from Kabul

(AFP via Getty Images)

The Afghan war appears to be approaching its endgame faster than anyone expected. The Taliban, having taken swathes of the countryside have started capturing cities with ten provincial capitals falling in less than a week.

The latest setback for the Afghan government, the fall of Ghazni, has further tightened the noose around Kabul, with the Taliban seemingly aiming to isolate and then attack the capital in the coming weeks.

The city, just 80 miles away from Kabul, is on the main route to Kandahar in the south. Its capture came 48 hours after the seizure of Pul-e-Khumri, 110 away, linking Kabul to the north and west, in what appears to be a rapidly progressing encirclement of the capital.

Government forces seem unable to contain the insurgent advance. The strife, and fear of the jihadists, has driven thousands of people from across the country to flee to Kabul where there is now a growing refugee crisis.

There is now a sense of panic among the people here about if and when, and now more when than if, the Taliban take over.

Kim Sengupta, the Defence and Diplomatic Editor of The Independent, has been covering the Afghan conflict for more than 20 years. He is in Kabul now having spent the last week in Herat.

He will be available to answer your questions on 13 August at 1pm BST.

Register to submit your question in the Comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the Comments box to leave your question.

Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until he joins the conversation to answer them.

Then join us live on this page from 1pm as he tackles as many questions as he can within an hour.