Embassies taken over
Members of the Taliban have moved into Kabul premises of the Norwegain Embassy. The future is uncertain.
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
A group of 56 Taliban members have taken over the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kabul, after all Norwegian personnel were evacuated.
NTB
A group of Taliban members have moved into the Norwegian and Danish embassies in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
The newspaper’s journalists have visited the Norwegian embassy, which was emptied out the day before the Taliban took power in Kabul on Aug. 15.
At the embassy, Aftenposten journalists were shown around by the group of 56 self-proclaimed Taliban members who have moved in.
According to the newspaper, the Taliban’s people have filled garbage bags with things they consider to be rubbish, such as a CD with Norwegian Christmas songs and a DVD with the film Kurt blir grusom (Kurt becomes cruel). Photos also show a Taliban member of the group trying out a rowing machine and Taliban people holding wooden skis with cable bindings.
“This area still belongs to your country. You’ll get it back. We just taking care of it,” said Amir Mohammed, head of the group.
At the embassy in Oslo. Trude Måseide, head of communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Aftenposten that for quite some time before the evacuation, employees unpacked and destroyed equipment and documents in accordance with instructions from the ministry.
Official photos of King Harald were also taken back to Norway, but other objects with the national coat of arms were being destroyed by the Taliban.
This article originally appeared in the Sept. 17, 2021, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
