From the DW:
“US seeks to ramp up Afghan
evacuations ahead of deadline — live updates”
President Joe Biden said he
remained focused on bringing all Americans out of Afghanistan by August 31.
Meanwhile, an Afghan security official has died in a gun battle at Kabul
airport. DW has the latest.
The West is trying to speed up
evacuation operations at Kabul airport
Deadly firefight erupts at the
gates of Kabul airport
Western evacuation process
gathers pace
President Biden has expressed his
sympathy with the plight so many are facing
The US has altered its evacuation
strategy after criticism over deaths and chaotic scenes
US officials have also expressed
concern about a threat from the "Islamic State" in Kabul
UK Defense Minister: 'Hours
now, not weeks' British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said Monday the
evacuation effort is "down to hours now, not weeks" for forces on the
ground at Kabul airport to airlift as many foreigners and Afghans who worked
with them to safety. Wallace said every moment must be utilized now and
that it was highly unlikely British forces would stay after the US withdraws on
August 31. "If their timetable extends, even by a day or two, then
that would give us a day or two more," Wallace said. UK Prime
Minister Boris Johnson is expected to push for an extension to the August 31
deadline in a virtual meeting of G7 leaders Tuesday, while the Taliban have
preemptively rejected the possibility that the deadline for evacuations could
be extended.
WHO says it cannot fly medical
supplies into Kabul airport The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday
that it was unable to fly 500 tons of medical supplies to the Kabul airport at
present due to the ongoing evacuation efforts. Spokeswoman Inas Hamam
wrote in an email to the Reuters news agency that supplies including surgical
equipment and treatment for childhood pneumonia "were ready and planned to
be delivered to Afghanistan to arrive this week," however "now that
the airport is closed to commercial flights, we can no longer get them
in." The WHO is calling on empty planes to retrieve the equipment
from the organization's storage hub in Dubai before flying on to Kabul airport
to assist with the evacuations.
Taliban say they seek
negotiated solution in Panjshir Valley nThe Taliban said they hope to
negotiate a solution over who will rule in the Panjshir Valley northeast of
Kabul, one of the few areas not yet captured by the group. Taliban fighters located around the
valley, namely in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces and the Andarab and Baghlan
districts, have taken up positions near Panjshir. Over the weekend, Afghan
politician Abdullah Abdullah held talks to discuss the future of Panjshir with
several leaders from the area. Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah
Massoud, has vowed to defend Panjshir and resist the Taliban takeover of
Afghanistan Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary commander Ahmad Shah
Massoud, has said he will defend the valley and has amassed fighters and former
government officials there while pledging to resist the Taliban takeover of the
country. The Taliban claims to have overrun the Pul-e-Hesar and Dih
Salah districts in Baghlan province. There have been reports of fighting
between local militants and the Taliban in Baghlan in recent days. The
Taliban did not manage to conquer Panjshir during their first reign over
Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001. The fighters there formed the Northern
Alliance which worked with the US to overthrow the Taliban in 2001 following
the September 11 attacks.
Bundeswehr says it has flown
out 2,700 evacuees On Twitter Monday, Germany's armed forces said it has
flown out 2,700 people since Kabul fell to the Taliban eight days ago. The
Bundeswehr added the mission will continue for as long as possible despite
difficult conditions on the ground.
Taliban will not extend August
31 deadline Two Taliban officials told Reuters Monday they would not extend
the August 31 deadline for evacuations at this time. The Taliban sources
also said no Western government has approached the Taliban about doing so at
present. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a virtual summit
of G7 leaders for Tuesday where he is expected to press for an extension of the
August 31 deadline. Sunday night US President Joe Biden also hinted at the
possibility of extending the date for withdrawal.
VP Harris addresses airlift
while in Singapore US Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the ongoing
airlift at the Kabul airport while on a visit to Singapore Monday. In a
joint press conference with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Harris said,
"There is going to be plenty of time to analyze what has happened and what
has taken place in the context of the withdrawal from Afghanistan." In
Singapore, US Vice President Kamala Harris said the US is 'singularly focused'
on the Kabul airport evacuation effort at present. She added, "But
right now we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans
who have worked with us and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and
children and that is our singular focus at this time." Prime
Minister Lee noted, "We hope Afghanistan does not become an epicenter for
terrorism again." Singapore
has offered transport aircraft to assist with the evacuations.
Firefight breaks out at Kabul
airport Gunfire between Afghan security forces and unknown assailants
erupted at the north gate of Kabul airport in the early hours of Monday
morning, according to the German military. One Afghan security officer
was killed and three others were injured in the battle, the Bundeswehr said on
Twitter. US and German armed
forces were also involved in the clashes. No other injuries have been reported.
The airport has witnessed chaotic
scenes in recent days, as the US, Germany and others seek to carry out
evacuation flights following the Taliban's swift takeover.
Taliban say no extension to
August 31 deadline sought Foreign forces in Afghanistan have not sought an
extension to the August 31 deadline they have set for leaving the country, a
Taliban official told news agency Reuters on Monday. President Joe Biden
said last week that the deadline might have to be extended so that US troops
can help with the evacuation process. Thousands of Americans are still
in Afghanistan, but the Taliban source said there has been no word communicated
to the militant group regarding the possibility of continuing evacuations, with
the help of US troops, into September. US President Joe Biden hinted
Sunday night that the US may seek an extension of the August 31 evacuation
deadline, but the Taliban said no such request has been made yet
Japan to send military plane Japan
says it will send a military plane later on Monday to bring back its citizens
from Afghanistan. More military planes are expected to be dispatched to
repatriate not only its own citizens, but also Afghans working at the Japanese
embassy or with Japanese missions, Katsunobu Kato, Japan's chief cabinet
secretary, announced.
Australia at the ready Australia
is willing to assist with evacuations from Afghanistan into September if the
United States decides to delay its withdrawal, Foreign Minister Marise Payne
said on Monday. President Joe Biden last week said US troops may stay in
Afghanistan beyond the August 31 deadline to evacuate Americans. Australia
has evacuated around 1,000 people from Kabul in the past week, and Payne said
her country would be willing to support further rescue missions. "We
are part of those discussions and if they are to be extended, we are absolutely
ready to support a continuing operation at Hamid Karzai International
Airport," Payne told reporters in the Australian capital of Canberra.
Strategy change President
Biden has revealed that the US has "made a number of changes" to the
evacuation effort, "including extended access around the airport and the
safe zone." The move is intended to push back Taliban fighters, and lessen
deadly chaos around Kabul airport. There has been heavy criticism of how
the West has handled the evacuation process from Afghanistan following the
Taliban's swift takeover of the country. "We are working diligently
to make sure we've increased the ability to get [people] out," Biden said.
He added: "We've changed the gate operations and a whole range of
things."
Commercial airlines assistance
The United States has enlisted the help of six commercial airlines to
transport people as the West looks to ramp up its evacuation process from
Afghanistan. President Joe Biden wants the US to step up the pace of
departures of Americans and at-risk Afghans amid growing criticism of the
chaotic scenes witnessed in recent days in and around the Kabul airport. Therefore,
the Pentagon has called up 18 civilian planes from United Airlines, American
Airlines and Delta Air, among others, to carry people from temporary locations
after they landed on flights from Afghanistan. "It's a program that
was designed in the wake of the Berlin airlift after World War II to use
commercial aircraft to augment our airlift capacity," Biden said in an
address from the White House, adding that airlines voluntarily signed up for
the program. Biden said the flights would bring people from
"staging locations," such as Qatar and Germany, to the US or a third
country. "None of them will be landing in Kabul," he added.
American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and privately held Omni Air
will provide three planes each. There are also two aircraft from Hawaiian
Airlines, and four from United Airlines.
Sunday's key developments Seven
people died in a stampede outside Kabul airport. The evacuation of
thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies from Kabul was always going to
be "hard and painful," US President Joe Biden insisted in a White
House address, as criticism mounted over his administration's handling of the
withdrawal. Former US President Donald Trump slammed his successor in
what he described as a "humiliation" for Biden. The Taliban
sent fighters towards Panjshir Valley to take control.
^ It seems that despite what
Biden and those in his Administration say and promise (ie. evacuations of Afghanis
and Americans ramping up including going outside the Airport to get them) isn’t
really happening, That means that whomever is evacuated by August 31st
will be the only ones who get out of Afghanistan alive. ^
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