What does Taliban reconquest mean for people of Afghanistan?

Many also fear the Taliban will reimpose the harsh interpretation of Islamic law that it relied upon when it ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001

Taliban fighters in the Afghan presidential palace. Picture: Zabi Karimi/AP

The Taliban has seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.