On Wednesday, ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke publicly for the first time since fleeing Kabul. Speaking from the United Arab Emirates, Ghani said he left Afghanistan to prevent more bloodshed.

Ashraf Ghani: “All my colleagues in the West told me that if I don’t leave, things would be worse. I could have stayed and started a war, but I had a responsibility to my people, and I didn’t want to start a bloodbath like in Syria and Yemen.”