US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the first job for the Afghan security forces was to slow down the Taliban's momentum as the group extended its control over more and more areas across the nation, seizing key border districts trade routes and highways, displacing in the process hundreds of thousands common Afghans in the civil war. 

"They are consolidating their forces around the key population centers," Austin was quoted as saying by Reuters, days after he said a military takeover of the Afghan government is not a “foregone conclusion.”

"In terms of whether or not it will stop the Taliban, I think the first thing to do is to make sure that they can slow the momentum," he said, adding that he believed the Afghans had the capability and the capacity to make progress, but "we'll see what happens."

In the last two months, the insurgent group extended its control over 200 districts--nearly half of the country’s 418 districts--amid the foreign troop withdrawal. The Afghan security forces have been reduced to controlling just key population centers, provincial centers, and some other districts. 

The Taliban’s unexpected advance on the battlefield shocked many countries and forced the Afghan government to revamp its security establishment. Senior Afghan leaders and officials also held discussions with allies for urgent military and financial assistance. 

In a phone call with Afghan President Ghani, US President Joe Biden has promised to provide financial assistance to Afghan forces. He also authorized $100 million from an emergency fund to meet "unexpected urgent" refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan.

Media reports showed the Taliban killed a former interpreter and torturing others, an allegation the group denied. The US State Department condemned the attacks on these key people on Friday this week. 

Following the attack, Canadian authorities vowed to do more to accommodate Afghan interpreters - key communication intermediaries for foreigners in Afghanistan - who were at increased risks of facing retribution from the Taliban.

In the last two months, fighting has displaced more than 300,000 people in the country. Two weeks ago, a UN estimate said close to 18.4 million Afghans would need humanitarian assistance in 2021. A third of Afghan children are suffering from malnutrition. 

The country would need almost $1 billion in emergency funding to meet these humanitarian challenges, exacerbated by increased fighting, Covid-19, and drought. 

Days after the Taliban said they would not agree to a ceasefire unless there is a new Islamic government in Afghanistan, the US asked the group to engage in serious talks.

“We call on the Taliban to engage in serious negotiations to determine a political roadmap for Afghanistan's future that leads to a just and durable settlement,” US State Department’s deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said. 

“A negotiated settlement between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban is the only way to end 40 years of war and bring Afghans to peace that they seek and deserve,” she added. 

(SAM)