Taliban Procession March Past During Reporter’s Live Broadcast From Kabul

A Sky News correspondent witnessed a Taliban procession during a live report from Kabul.

Stuart Ramsay was speaking to the camera when he 'heard a lot of shouting'. Turning to look at what was making the noise, he spotted the procession.

He said: "In fact, I think it's a procession of... er... of the Taliban. Yes it is, there's the white flag.

"They're coming down the street just next to us, they're in their shalwar kameez, they are led by a white flag and they're chanting as they go down."

The position of the camera prevents a view of the group, but Ramsay carried on describing what they were doing, adding 'hopefully they'll go past this hotel'.

He went on: "I can't see people with weapons at all - it doesn't mean they're not, but they're not openly carrying guns, as far as I can tell. They are marching and chanting.

"So you couldn't ask for a better illustration of the fact that the Taliban aren't just in Kabul but they're actually right, right in the centre of it - they've just walked the Presidential Palace, which is there.

PA

"Interesting times - are they just parading around? Are these Taliban fighters and they've come in from other areas? Again, we don't know that."

Ramsay was reporting as the militant group effectively seized control of Kabul as well as large swathes of the country as international military forces had started pulling out of the region following a decades-long war.

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told the BBC they were in talks with Afghani officials about a peaceful takeover of power.

President Ashraf Ghani has since fled the country, explaining that he was forced to make a 'hard decision'.

PA

He said: "If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city.

"The Taliban had made it clear that they were ready to carry out a bloody attack on all of Kabul and the people of Kabul to oust me. In order to prevent a flood of bloodshed, I decided to leave."

Topics: World News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19