More than 1,000 Afghan troops are fleeing the Taliban across the border, with Tajikistan sending an army

More than 1,000 Afghan security officials have fled across the border into Tajikistan since the Taliban advanced into northern Afghanistan, the Tajik border service said on Monday, while dozens more were captured by the rebels, Reuters and TASS reported.

The escapes underscore the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country, as international troops are close to a complete withdrawal after 20 years of war in Afghanistan and peace talks are stalled.

Hundreds of Afghan security forces have fled the Taliban’s rapid advance, but Sunday’s retreat was the largest confirmed, just two days after the United States officially left its main base in Afghanistan as part of a plan to withdraw all foreign troops by 11 p.m. September.

The Taliban seized six key areas in the northern province of Badakhshan, which borders both Tajikistan and China, after which 1,037 Afghan troops fled across the border with Tajikistan’s permission, its border service said.

On Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke by phone with his Tajik counterpart, President Emomali Rahmon, to discuss developments. “Special attention was paid to the escalation of the situation in the northern regions of Afghanistan, neighboring Tajikistan,” a statement from the Tajik president’s office said.

It added that Rahmon had expressed concern about “forced passage” by members of the Afghan security forces. Tajikistan could set up camps for potential refugees from Afghanistan, government sources told Reuters.

On Monday, Rahmon also spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who assured him that Moscow would support Dushanbe if necessary, both directly and through a regional security bloc, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Rahmon also called on colleagues from Central Asian leaders Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Kasim-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan to hold a meeting of the Security Council to order additional troops to be sent to the Afghan border.

A senior Afghan official has confirmed that there have been hundreds of crossings in Tajikistan, but does not know the exact number. “The Taliban cut off all roads and these people had nowhere to go but to cross the border,” he said Monday.

Last week, US forces left Bagram Air Base, effectively ending the longest war in US history. The Taliban have stopped attacks on Western forces, but continue to attack the Afghan government and security forces and quickly take over territory across the country.

Zabihula Attic, a parliamentarian from Badakhshan, told Reuters that the Taliban had taken 26 of the 28 districts of the border province – three of which had surrendered without a fight.

Members of the Afghan security forces used various escape routes, he said, but added that the Taliban had captured dozens of officers in Ishkash, where Tajik border forces had blocked any passage to the former Soviet republic. Tajik authorities said they had allowed 152 people from Ishkashim, but did not comment on whether anyone had been denied entry.

Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib was in Moscow on Monday for talks, saying government forces did not expect a Taliban offensive but would launch a counterattack.

Russia, which has a military base in Tajikistan, has said the Russian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif is suspending operations for security concerns.

Tajikistan’s defense ministry will send 20,000 troops to bolster security on the Tajik-Afghan border as the situation in Afghanistan’s northern provinces worsens. Such an order was given by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon at a meeting of the Security Council, which took place on Monday, the press service of the head of state announced.

According to her, in connection with the aggravation of the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border, the members of the Security Council of the republic have considered the issue of ensuring security in the border areas and taking measures to strengthen the protection of the state border. “The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, has instructed the republic’s defense minister to mobilize 20,000 troops from the reserve to further strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.”

The head of state also paid special attention to the prevention of state border violations related to transnational crime, terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.