The Jewish Council for Racial Equality has called on the UK government to announce "a comprehensive" plan to help refugees who wish to escape Afghanistan. 

Their plea comes as the Taliban, an Islamist militia, has swept to power in the country. 

In a statement JCORE said: "It views with increasing concern the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Afghanistan. We urge our government to formulate and announce specific plans for a comprehensive programme to assist in the evacuation and resettlement of Afghan refugees into the UK."

Meanwhile World Jewish Relief said it was "deeply concerned by the situation in Afghanistan," and "urge the Government to commit to a sizeable resettlement programme."

WJR said that while it did not work in Afghanistan nor in surrounding states due to security being too challenging it would "continue to monitor the situation and, should displaced Afghans reach countries where we operate and are able to support them, we will endeavour to do so."

The charity said it would continue to provide employment services to refugees, through its Specialist Training and Employment Programme (STEP).

"In recent months STEP has assisted a small number of Afghan nationals who, having worked with the British military in Afghanistan, have been resettled in the UK. The STEP project is ready to support these people to rebuild their lives, and we are committed to offering our expertise at a time of great turmoil," a WJR spokesperson said in a statement.

Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl called upon the UK Government to help resettle Afghan refugees in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the country.

Ms van der Zyl said: "UK Jews will share the world’s horror at the scenes unfolding in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s sickening record of the repression of women and girls, and complete disregard for human rights, fill us all with great anxiety for the Afghan people.

"We call on the UK Government to expand on its plans for the resettlement of Afghan refugees, to whom the world now owes a duty of care and moral responsibility."

Rabbi David Mason, of Muswell Hill Synagogue said it was important to steer the conversation away from "discussions around limits and on the numbers of refugees we should take. 

"I understand that thinking around immigration is hard but theses feeling are not relevant to the situation in Afghanistan. When you see the images we are seeing and the sense of abandonment of the people. We have left them after 20 years.  We just need to get out the people who want to get out and stop worrying about the bureaucracy."

Yesterday, the Taliban who were toppled by US-led forces in 2001, announced that Afghanistan was now the Islamic Emirate of Afghanista and under Sharia law. 

A spokesman for the group - which banned television, music and cinema, and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over going to school - told AP it was holding talks aimed at forming an "open, inclusive Islamic government."

Taliban officials declared the war was “over” and said it was in charge of 90 per cent of government buildings.

Chaotic scenes unfolded at Kabul's international airport with thousands of people trying to board aircrafts that were evacuating diplomatic staff.

Videos shows people clinging to and hanging off military planes that were trying to leave.