The embassy has been conducting a number of measures to protect Vietnamese citizens. including publishing an announcement on citizen protection and making contact with related agencies and individuals to get assistance for the issue, according to the ambassador.

There are no Vietnamese citizens reported to stay in Afghanistan currently, Ambassador of Vietnam to Pakistan and concurrently to Afghanistan has said.

Earlier on August 3, the embassy has cooperated with relevant agencies to bring home a Vietnamese national who worked for the United Nations in Afghanistan.

In case of assistance, the Embassy of Vietnam in Pakistan and Afghanistan can be reached at +92 51 2655785/87, or via WhatsApp + 92 0336 3336868, Zalo and Viber + 84 936 061996, or the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at +84.981.84.84.84.

Taliban fighters in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Photo: AFP/VNA

International media has updated that Taliban fighters with their dizzying advancement have taken over Kabul.

“Kabul falls to the Taliban as the Afghan government collapses and the president flees,” the New York Times reported minutes ago.

“The government collapsed, and chaos and fear gripped the city, with tens of thousands of people trying to escape,” it described.

Countries and international organizations are racing against time to evacuate diplomats and civilians from an increasingly panicked city.

The insurgents return to power with little effort, two decades after they were ousted. In April, the Taliban stepped up a campaign to defeat the US-backed government as foreign forces withdrew after 20 years of war.

On August 15, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Taliban and all other parties to exercise the utmost restraint in order to protect lives and expressed particular concern about the future of women and girls in Afghanistan, Reuters reported.

Guterres “is particularly concerned about the future of women and girls, whose hard-won rights must be protected.”

US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban from power in late 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks (September 11, 2001) on the US.