A Defence Force Hercules is en route to Afghanistan to evacuate New Zealand's stranded citizens - but one Kiwi journalist with a first-hand view of the Taliban takeover won't be aboard when it returns.
Charlotte Bellis has been on the ground in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul reporting for Al Jazeera and told Newshub Nation she will remain there to hold the city's new rulers to account.
"I think they'll have to drag me out of here. I'm not leaving any time soon."
The Taliban swept to power in a matter of days as US forces retreated and Afghan Security Forces immediately laid down their arms, ending two decades of occupation and conflict.
"I went to work on Sunday morning [last week] and there were Afghan police at the checkpoints and when I came home from work, there were Taliban on the checkpoints," recounted Bellis.
"I don't think anyone could see this coming. Even the Taliban are like, 'We're shocked. We couldn't believe that we're in the country in 10 days'... American intelligence forecast it would be two years before Kabul fell."
While the sweep to power may have been largely bloodless so far, Bellis says the situation is still tense and violence could erupt at any moment.
"It can turn on a dime. The problem with rogue fighters is that they shoot first, ask questions later. And if you annoy or agitate one of them, it's a little late to go to the leadership afterwards and say 'you weren't meant to do that'."
Even without shots fired, lives were lost as thousands of civilians fleeing the advancing Taliban swarmed Kabul Airport on Monday. Some were desperate enough to cling to planes as they took off and several men plunged to their deaths.
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Bellis was one of only three women allowed at the Taliban leadership's first press conference this week, where they presented a moderate front, promising to respect women's rights and maintain peaceful international relations.
"They're saying all the right things," says Bellis.
"The problem is trust. My colleagues are terrified and trying to get on the next evacuation flight out... [the Taliban] haven't acted that well in the last 20 years. There's been a lot of killing. How are they going to just trust you now?"
During the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and were beaten or even killed for disobeying the Taliban's strict interpretation of Sharia - Islamic religious law.
As to whether she believed the Taliban were genuine in claiming this time would be different, Bellis hedged her bets.
"It depends who you talk to. I think like any organisation there's people who are moderate and trustworthy and authentic, like in any government. And then there's also people who you can't trust and will just be politicians and say what you want to hear."
