European countries have moved to evacuate their nationals and local staff in Afghanistan as the Taliban entered the country's capital city Kabul.
Germany moved dozens of diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Kabul to the airport ahead of an evacuation planned from tomorrow, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter.
"We are not going to risk our people falling into the hands of the Taliban," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Bild daily.
France also set up a temporary diplomatic mission near the airport, officials said.
The EU said that the Taliban's advance to Kabul had "increased the urgency to provide protection" for its Afghan staff against possible reprisals, and Brussels was trying to ensure their safety.
"The matter is extremely urgent, we take it very seriously and continue to work hard, together with EU Member States, on implementing rapid solutions for them and ensure their safety.
"We are in intense contact and work closely on this with the Member States to maximise the possibilities for our local staff and their dependents to relocate to a safe location," an EU spokesman said.
Other NATO members including Britain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Spain have also announced they are evacuating their embassy personnel.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was working to keep Kabul airport running.
"Spoke with UK PM Boris Johnson and the foreign ministers of our allies Canada, Denmark and Netherlands on the situation in Afghanistan. NATO is helping keep Kabul airport open to facilitate and coordinate evacuations," Mr Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.
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The French presidency said it would "do the utmost to guarantee the safety" of French nationals still in the country as well as Afghan staff.
In a statement it said the evacuation involving several hundred people had begun in April.
"France is one of the few countries that has maintained the capability... to protect the Afghans who worked for the French army, as well as journalists, human rights activists, artists and Afghan figures who are especially threatened," the statement said.
Paris has vowed an "exceptional effort" to welcome Afghans under threat for their human rights work. More than 600 Afghans employed in French organisations in the country have already arrived in France along with their families, the government said on Friday.
Britain is deploying around 600 troops to help evacuate its roughly 3,000 nationals from the country, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the "vast bulk" of remaining embassy staff in Kabul would return to the UK.
Italy's defence ministry said a first military plane would arrive today to begin "emergency evacuation" operations.
Italy, which once had one of the largest Western contingents in Afghanistan totalling some 50,000 troops over 20 years, already repatriated its last troops in June.
A total of 53 Italian soldiers were killed, and 723 were wounded.
Denmark and Norway will temporarily shut their Kabul embassies while Finland will evacuate up to 130 local Afghan workers, ministers from the Nordic countries said on Friday.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde also noted that the country's evacuees would include Afghan interpreters and other local staff.
Meanwhile the Dutch embassy in Kabul was evacuated overnight and is operating from a makeshift office near the airport, the country's foreign ministry said Sunday.
The Netherlands said Friday that it would take in Afghan interpreters and some other embassy staff.
NATO said finding a political solution to Afghanistan conflict was more pressing "than ever".
"We support Afghan efforts to find a political solution to the conflict, which is now more urgent than ever," an official at the 30-nation alliance told AFP.
The official said "NATO is constantly assessing developments in Afghanistan" following a lightning sweep by the insurgents to the edge of the capital.
"We are helping to maintain operations at Kabul airport to keep Afghanistan connected with the world," the official said.
"We also maintain our diplomatic presence in Kabul. The security of our personnel is paramount, and we continue to adjust as necessary."
Canada said it was temporarily suspending its diplomatic operations in Kabul and that its personnel were on their way back home, according to a statement.
"The situation in Afghanistan is rapidly evolving and poses serious challenges to our ability to ensure the safety and security of our mission," Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in the statement.
Canadian personnel "are now safely on their way back to Canada," he added.
Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates airline flydubai will suspend flights to Kabul from tomorrow, a spokesperson said.
A flight to Kabul today returned to Dubai before reaching the Afghan capital, the spokesperson said, adding that flights would be suspended until further notice.
'This is not Saigon' - Blinken says US mission a success
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the United States' mission in Afghanistan has been "successful", as US embassy staff were being evacuated.
The US sent in troops to ensure the safe evacuation of their personnel on the ground.
Mr Blinken told ABC: "It's why we had forces on hand to make sure we could do this in a safe and orderly fashion. The compound itself, folks are leaving there and going to the airport.
Despite the precipitous move, he rejected comparisons with the chaotic American departure from Saigon in 1975 as the Vietnam War drew to a close.
"This is not Saigon," Mr Blinken said. "The fact of the matter is this: We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission in mind. That was to deal with the people that attacked us on 9/11. That mission has been successful."
The Afghan authorities signalled there were negotiations under way to avoid bloodshed in Kabul, and to hand power to a "transitional government".
The United States is unlikely to change its military strategy in Kabul unless the Taliban impact the evacuation of the embassy, a US official said.
