Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani and his family are in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since fleeing the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday.

“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” a statement from the ministry sent to CNN on Wednesday read. 

News agency AFP said the former president is in Abu Dhabi. 

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Ghani reportedly fled the country in a helicopter stuffed with cash as the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital, capping a nationwide blitz. In a Facebook post, he said he was leaving the country to avoid clashes with the militants that would endanger millions of Afghans. However, he did not mention where he was going or how power will be transferred to the Taliban. 

Earlier, reports indicated he had fled to neighbouring Tajikistan or Kazakhstan, but both countries refuted the rumours. 

Meanwhile, Anas Haqqani – a senior Taliban commander and a leader of the Haqqani Network militant group – met with former Afghan president Hamid Karzai as the Taliban attempt to set up their government in the country. 

The meeting was also attended by Abdullah Abdullah, the former Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan who was the ousted government’s main peace envoy. 

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The Haqqani Network, based on regions in the eastern border with Pakistan, is an important faction in the Taliban and has previously been accused of some of teh deadliest militant attacks in Afghanistan. 

In a joint-statement on Wednesday, the European Union, the United States and other nations said they were “deeply worried about Afghan women and girls, their right to education, work and freedom of movement”.

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“We call on those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to guarentee their protection,” the joint-statement from Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal, Switzerland, and the US said.