Taliban fighters have declared “The war is over” after seizing the presidential palace, sending President Ashraf Ghani fleeing. The declaration of victory follows a blistering advance across Afghanistan, which saw 20 provincial capitals fall to the Taliban in less than two weeks. Photos have emerged of hundreds more Taliban fighters flooding into the capital Kabul as citizens scramble to escape at Kabul airport.

       "I am in a complete state of shock.

       “The Taliban entering that scared me, but [President Ashraf] Ghani leaving all of us in this situation has been the worst," one shop owner in Kabul.

       The city has descended into chaos with residents and foreign nationals desperate to escape.

       Residents said that government offices are empty and the embassy district not far from Kabul airport is completely deserted, with diplomats and families leaving the country or scrambling to safe-houses.

       The US has moved all embassy staff to the airport where the US military has secured the perimeter and is controlling air traffic control to evacuate American and allied personnel from the area.

       More than 60 countries, including the UK and US, have asked the Taliban to allow anyone who wishes to depart to do so.

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       The British ambassador is reportedly orchestrating the evacuation of British nationals from a safe-house in the capital.

       Loughborough University student, Miles Routledge, 22, is trapped in the Taliban held city Kabul after travelling there on holiday.

       The physics student flew to war-torn Afghanistan after googling ‘most dangerous countries to visit’ and plumping for the top entry.

       Miles updated friends and family on his Facebook account yesterday: “No more flights in Kabul, I’m stuck in Afghanistan. Bit of a pickle.”

       He is now hiding out in a United Nations safe-house in Kabul after several attempts to leave the Taliban held city, reports The Spectator.

       Parliament has been recalled next week to discuss the government’s response to the ongoing crisis.

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