Reuters.- Western countries were rushing to complete the evacuation of Afghanistan on Wednesday, less than a week before the departure of foreign troops, and recognizing that many Afghans who helped them during two decades of war will be left to face an uncertain fate under a government. Taliban.
While the airlift should last until Tuesday, the US military said that in the last two days it would focus on evacuating its own troops.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has ordered the departure of all troops from the South Asian country by the end of the month, ignoring requests from European allies for more time to save the people who helped the NATO countries. during the conflict.
In the 10 days since the Taliban stormed Kabul, the United States and its allies have organized one of the largest air evacuations in history, removing more than 88,000 people, 19,000 in the last 24 hours.
The US military says planes are taking off every 39 minutes.
Biden said they are on track to meet the deadline, set under an agreement reached by the government of former President Donald Trump with the Islamist group last year to end the longest war the United States has ever fought.
The White House said Biden was briefed on Wednesday of contingency plans for the evacuation of Afghanistan, as well as the threat from the militant group ISIS-K.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that at least 4,500 US citizens and their families had been evacuated from Afghanistan since mid-August, and that the State Department was “aggressively” trying to reach about 1,000 who remained.
Blinken told a news conference that there was no deadline for the effort to help people who want to leave Afghanistan, both Americans and other countries, and that it would continue for “as long as it takes.”
The Taliban said all foreign evacuations must be completed by August 31 and called on the United States to stop urging talented Afghans to leave, while trying to persuade people at the airport to go home, saying they had nothing to fear.
“Foreign troops must withdraw before the deadline. They will pave the way for the resumption of civilian flights, ”Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter. “People with legal documents will be able to travel on commercial flights after August 31.”
Several of Washington’s European allies say they no longer have time to rescue all the thousands of Afghans who aided his forces and his diplomatic efforts.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the deadline for evacuating people is until the last minute of the month.
France said it would go ahead with the evacuations for as long as possible, but would likely finish them in the next few hours or days. Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that Germany would try to help Afghans even after the deadline expired.
LOOKING FOR A PASSAGE
Tens of thousands of Afghans who fear persecution have swarmed the Kabul airport since the Islamist militants took office.
Many people hoping to get out were milling outside the airport on Wednesday, where soldiers from the United States, Britain and other nations were trying to maintain order amid the dust and heat.
They carried bags and suitcases full of possessions and waved documents in front of the soldiers in the hope of being able to enter. A man, standing knee-deep in a flooded ditch, passed a child between the terminal walls to hand him over to another adult.
“I found out from an email from London that the Americans are taking people out, so I came to go abroad,” said one man, Aizaz Ullah.
While the focus is now on those trying to flee, the risk of hunger, disease and persecution is increasing for the rest of the population, aid agencies say.
The EU said this week it plans to quadruple aid and seeks to coordinate with the United Nations on delivery, as well as security guarantees on the ground.
The UN human rights chief said she had received credible reports of serious violations by the Taliban, including “summary executions” of civilians and Afghan security forces who had surrendered. The Taliban have said they will investigate the atrocity reports.
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The 1996-2001 Taliban rule was marked by harsh sharia law, with many political rights and basic freedoms restricted and women severely oppressed. Afghanistan was also a hub for anti-Western militants, and Washington, London and others fear it may be again.
A NATO diplomat in Kabul, who declined to be named, said several international aid groups were desperate to remove Afghan personnel and neighboring countries should open their land borders to allow more people to leave.
“Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan should withdraw many more people using air or land routes. It is vital that air and land routes are used at a very fast pace, “the diplomat told Reuters.
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