Afghanistan's deposed president Ashraf Ghani has released a statement in which he aplogizes to the Afghan people for leaving the country abruptly on August 15, after the Taliban entered Kabul, and for being unable to ensure peace and stability.

"Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed that it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her  six million citizens,” he said.