Western embassies and aid agencies are scrambling to evacuate their civilian staff from embassies from Afghanistan, with the United States and the United Kingdom rushing additional troops to the country after the Taliban captured Kandahar, Helmand, Herat, and Ghazni, raising fears of an immediate collapse of the Afghan government.

The fall of Kandahar, Helmand, and Herat--  the country's second and third largest cities--is the biggest jolt to the US-backed Afghan government, which had been hoping to put fierce resistance against the Taliban in major cities. On Friday, the group claimed to overrun at least four provincial centers. 

Amid the Taliban's swift offensive, the Pentagon said it would send about 3,000 extra troops within 48 hours to help evacuate US  embassy staff which houses over 4000 personnel. The UK government has announced sending 600 troops to help to evacuate staff.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is discussing a draft statement condemning the Taliban for forcefully overtaking the government. On Wednesday, a special international meeting, involving Troika plus group other nations, stated that they would not recognize any government installed through military means in Afghanistan. 

Abandoned by the world, for thousands of AfghansThursday was the day when it became clear to them that their government is failing to resist the Taliban. Biden said earlier this week that he did not regret his decision( of withdrawing troops), noting Washington has spent more than $1 trillion in America's longest war and lost thousands of troops.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday and told him the United States "remains invested in the security and stability of Afghanistan", the US State Department said in a statement on Friday. They also said the United States was committed to supporting a political solution.

The insurgent group also claimed to have captured Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, and Qala-e-Naw, the provincial center of Badghis in the northwest.

The Afghan government still controls the main city in the north - Mazar-i-Sharif - and Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border in the east, as well as Kabul.

Reports also indicated that several cities in the country are out of power and don’t have regular water supplies.