Afghan soldiers occupy Bagram air base, former hub of US forces

Bagram Air base buzzed again on Monday as Afghan forces settled in the vast complex. US forces have fully vacated the base which was their main hub for 20 years for 20 years until their withdrawal last week.

American soldiers handed over the base to0 Afghan security forces.

“They (Americans) are completely out now and everything is under our control, including watchtowers, air traffic and the hospital,” a senior Afghan government official told Reuters.

Reuters journalists on Monday visited the heavily fortified compound, long a symbol of Western forces deployed to shore up the Afghan government against the Taliban's campaign to regain power after being toppled by a U.S. intervention in 2001.

At the air base, dozens of vehicles left behind by US forces could be seen. Afghan officials and personnel could be seen travelling in others.

Hundreds of Afghan security personnel moved into barracks that once housed US soldiers.

Outside the walls of the vast base, things are not as serene. The Taliban have ramped up offensives against Afghan government forces across the country, particularly in the north where insurgents have gained territory rapidly.

On Sunday, hundreds of members of the Afghan security forces fled to refuge in neighbouring Tajikistan.

There are fears that Afghanistan may once again see a civil war for control of the country. Peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government remain inconclusive

Neighbourhoods and markets in the shadow of the base were left ruing the past and bracing for what comes next.

“It is not a problem for us if there are foreign forces (here) or they leave, but the fact that the Taliban are taking over districts at any moment affects our work,” Wasim Shirzad, a shopkeeper told Reuters.

Another shopkeeper Nematullah Ferdaws, agreed: “Most shopkeepers do not invest...because they are hesitant about the country's future.”