Former Afghan president says he fled nation to 'save Kabul'

Former President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan said he fled the country to prevent the destruction of Kabul as Taliban fighters advanced on the capital, offering the most detailed defence of his actions since the government's collapse in August, reports The New York Times.

Ghani, speaking to the BBC in an interview broadcast on Thursday - his first interview since he fled - said his sudden departure was the "hardest" decision he made. He noted that even in the hours before he boarded a helicopter and was spirited out of the country, he did not know it would be his last day in his homeland.

The Taliban had largely surrounded Kabul and panic gripped the city when Ghani, along with his wife and close associates, fled on the afternoon of Aug 15.

Ghani told BBC's Radio 4 that if he had taken "a stand," the presidential palace security guards would have been killed.

"And they were not capable of defending me," he added.

"Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions," Ghani explained. "And the possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of 5 million and bring havoc to the people was enormous."

The decision to leave was frenzied, he said, and he was not given "more than two minutes" to get ready for the flight out of the country.