World2 min(s) read
Published 15:03 31 Aug 2021 GMT
The Taliban held a self-congratulatory press conference from Kabul airport, less than a day after the final US troops stationed in Afghanistan departed the country.
The US withdrew its last remaining troops on Monday, August 30, marking the end of 20 years of US military intervention in Afghanistan.
Celebrating the occasion, supporters of the Taliban arranged a spectacle that saw gunfire erupt into the night sky, The Guardian reports.
Leaders of the extremist group also walked across the runway at Kabul airport after the withdrawal of the US military in order to ring in their victory, AP News reports.
According to the Telegraph, on Tuesday, August 31, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid answered reporters' questions while on the runway of the airport, which saw the hurried evacuation of thousands of people over the last couple of weeks.
"Congratulations to Afghanistan... this victory belongs to us all," Mujahid told reporters - as translated by the paper - adding that the militant group's victory in the country was a "lesson for other invaders and for our future generation".
"It is also a lesson for the world," he continued.
Reveling in Afghanistan's newfound "independence", the spokesman said that the country is now a "free and sovereign nation," Financial Times reports.
Joining the celebration, Mohammad Islam, a Taliban guard at the airport from Logar province said, per The Guardian: "After 20 years we have defeated the Americans. They have left and now our country is free."
He added: "It’s clear what we want. We want Shariah (Islamic law), peace, and stability."
Since July, more than 122,000 people were evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed, CNN reports.
Many Afghans are now living in fear after the Taliban's return to power following its swift takeover of the country earlier this month.
The group was infamous for its oppressive government, especially where the rights of women and girls were concerned.
After the Taliban initially took power in 1996 before being ousted by US troops in 2001, the Taliban's oppressive rule ensured that women and girls were unable to leave their homes without a male chaperone and they were prevented from working or receiving an education.
