The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, who previously served in the British Army for a decade, including two deployments in Afghanistan, on Monday, issued a statement to service members regarding the Taliban takeover of the country.
According to Fox News, in the joint statement from Harry and Dominic Reid, the CEO of Harry's Invictus Games, they called on the international community, particularly those who have served or whose family members have served in the country, to reach out to one another as emotions flared regarding the Taliban takeover.
The statement read, "What's happening in Afghanistan resonates across the international Invictus community. Many of the participating nations and competitors in the Invictus Games family are bound by a shared experience of serving in Afghanistan over the past two decades, and for several years, we have competed alongside Invictus Games Team Afghanistan."
"We encourage everybody across the Invictus network -- and the wider military community -- to reach out to each other and offer support for one another," the statement concluded.
The Duke of Sussex founded the Invictus Games in 2014 in an effort to use athletics and competition to inspire service-members to recover both physically and mentally from injuries suffered in combat.
The international military community has expressed strong feelings about the situation in Afghanistan after more than two decades of military operations designed to stop the Taliban from reclaiming power.
The Taliban moved into several cities in the country in recent weeks, culminating in the takeover of the capital city of Kabul over the weekend. The fall of the city triggered the collapse of the government as US forces continued their planned withdrawal.
The Taliban is pushing to restore the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the formal name of the country under the Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by U.S-led forces in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, which were orchestrated by Al Qaeda while it was being sheltered by the Taliban.
( With inputs from ANI )
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