Afghan refugee and Welsh war veteran on a conflict that changed their lives, as tensions rise again
Watch the full report by ITV Wales Reporter Sion Jenkins
An Afghan refugee and a Welsh war veteran have come together to reflect on the conflict that changed both of their lives forever, as the daily advances by the Taliban continue.
Hamed Amiri fled to Wales in 2001 and Andrew Inwood is a war veteran who served in Afghanistan twice.
Hamed left his home country after his mother was issued an execution order by the Taliban when she called for equality.
The 31-year-old now lives in Cardiff with his father and two brothers, but he still has family in the country. Hamed is fearful for their future.
"I just feel helpless knowing my family right now back home don't know what tomorrow will look like."
He explains his worry is not with the politics, but with the people.
"My concern right now is not the government or the Taliban fighting over power - it's the civilians, the kids, the next generation and what's going to happen to them.
"That's where my heart goes, that's where I feel the pain, that's what angers me. The innocent lives that are caught in the middle. For what?"
The situation in Afghanistan is changing by the hour. The Taliban has taken control of the country's second and third largest cities Kandahar and Herat, just hours after the takeover of Ghazni.
The insurgents have taken 18 of the 34 provincial capitals in recent days, as the security situation quickly deteriorates.
The Taliban always believed the West would leave Afghanistan and that if they were patient enough, they could take back control.
The UK will deploy 600 troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate Britons as the Taliban closes in on the capital Kabul, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced on Thursday.
Boris Johnson has called an emergency Cobra meeting to address the worsening situation.
Meanwhile, war veteran Andrew served two tours in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2010. He thinks now is not the time to be pulling out.
"I just feel like we're turning our back on them," he said.
"We were all lucky to come out with our lives but it's difficult to see what kind of enjoyment we can have in our life. Especially now, everyone just pulling out, it feels wasted."
The 34-year-old was blown up after an IED exploded under his vehicle and has questioned what the invasion was for with the country falling to the insurgents so rapidly.
He has lost several friends to the conflict.
Andrew added, "457 soldiers we've lost. Even though we've pulled out, I can guarantee you could probably triple or quadruple those numbers in the next five years of lads taking their own lives.
"Everyone is going to come from there with scars - physical, mental. It's going to take a long time for people to recover."
Madeleine Moon is a former Labour MP for Bridgend, as well as a former president of the NATO parliament and a member of the Commons Defence Select committee.
She says the recent advances will have a major political impact across the world and only add to the "increasing migration crisis".
"To leave the way we have has, I think, exacerbated the problem for the people of Afghanistan in a way that is beyond belief," she said.
"I honestly can't say anything positive about this decision, except it will save a lot of money for the US, it certainly will. And it certainly is going to save money to the UK in terms of its military, but it may well cost us a lot more in terms of dealing with some of the other issues like immigration, like drugs, the rise of terrorism."
With a future of uncertainty, Hamed says the people of Afghanistan will face the same experiences as his family did in 2000.
"People are going to go though exactly what my family had to go through 20 years ago. And that's the disappointing feeling that I get here - that nothing's changed," he said.
"I wish I could say I could see some positive, but right now I can't.
"I'm pinning on hope that people that I know and love are going to be safe. That kids and civilians are not going to be eradicated from back home."