Saudi Arabia, OIC call on Taliban to protect lives in Afghanistan

Riyadh: With the Afghanistan crisis becoming intense on the heels of the Taliban's advances taking control of the President's palace in Kabul, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed hope that the situation will come to normalcy soon.

A statement issued by the foreign ministry said "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hopes that the Taliban movement and all Afghan parties will work to preserve security, stability, lives and property, and at the same time, affirms its support for the Afghan people and the choices they make without any interference."

It is reported that the beleaguered Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country on reports of Taliban's advances towards Kabul after seizing control of most of the major provinces of the country.

Saudi embassy staff in Kabul were evacuated to safety as did other countries.

The Kabul airport had yesterday witnessed desperate people flocking to flights that were ready to take off, and at least seven people were reported to have died in the melee to flee the country.

Kuwait has also reportedly urged the Afghanistan authority to maintain maximum restraint to avoid further bloodshed, protecting the civilians, and allowing the stranded diplomats and foreign nationals to leave the country safely.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called on the Taliban and all parties to work to advance the interests of the Afghan people, protect lives, renounce violence and bring lasting peace to achieve stability, decent living and prosperity.

Meanwhile, The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said it had suspended flights of airlines registered in the UAE to Afghan airports.