On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by 1 May. Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan government forces. On 15 August 2021, as the Taliban once again controlled a vast majority of Afghan territory, the Taliban began capturing the capital city of Kabul, and many civilians, government officials and foreign diplomats were evacuated. President Ghani fled Afghanistan that day. As of 16 August 2021, an unofficial Coordination Council led by senior statesmen was in the process of coordinating the transfer of the state institutions of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban. On 17 August, the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, proclaimed himself the caretaker President of Afghanistan and announced the formation of an anti-Taliban front with a reported 6,000+ troops in the Panjshir Valley, along with Ahmad Massoud. However, on 6 September, the Taliban took control of most of the Panjshir province, with resistance fighters retreating to the mountains to continue fighting within the province. Fights in the valley ceased mid-September, while resistances leaders Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud fled to neighboring Tajikistan.