Ghani replaces Afghan military chief mid-Taliban blitz on major cities

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has replaced the army chief of staff General Wali Ahmadzai amid a Taliban blitz across the country, according to reports. 

General Hibatullah Alizai has been appointed to lead the army in Ahmadzai's place, local media reported on Wednesday.

The change that has not yet been announced publicly. But the news has been doing the rounds on Twitter as well.

The change in the guard comes as the Taliban seized three more provincial capitals and a local army headquarters completing their advance in the northeast and pressing their offensive elsewhere, officials said on Wednesday. 

The insurgents now control some two-thirds of the nation as the US and NATO finalise their withdrawal after a decades-long war there. 

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The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on Kabul to stem the tide of the advance, even as its lost a major base in Kunduz.

Ghani rushed earlier on Wednesday to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek help in pushing back the insurgents from warlords linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption.

While Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain control of its countryside. 

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The multiple fronts of the battle have stretched the government's special operations forces — while regular troops have often fled the battlefield — and the violence has pushed thousands of civilians to seek safety in the capital.

The US military, which plans to complete its withdrawal by the end of the month, has conducted some airstrikes but largely has avoided involving itself in the ground campaign.