Afghan officials say Taliban fighters have started entering the country's capital after making significant territorial gains.
Insurgents seized another major city overnight - leaving the central government in control of just 7 out of 34 provincial areas.
Reports from the ground said militants were now on the ground at the outskirts of Kabul.
However, a statement attributed to the Taliban claimed that fighters had been ordered to stay at the gates of the city and not try to take the capital by force.
The US and other countries have started evacuating workers from their embassies in Kabul.
US President Joe Biden has again defended his decision to end his country's military mission in Afghanistan.
He said an "endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me".
He added that another year or five years of a US military presence "would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country".
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Ireland Executive Director, Colm O'Gorman says tens of thousands of people are now at major risk in Afghanistan - particularly young people and children.
He called on the international community to do more to protect refugees and ensure there's humanitarian aid for those that need it in Afghanistan.
