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 By Paul HANDLEY Washington (AFP) Aug 17, 2021
The White House said Tuesday that the Taliban had promised that civilians could travel safely to the Kabul airport as the US military stepped up its airlift for Americans and Afghans fleeing the Islamist group. Some 11,000 people with US nationality remain inside the country, including diplomats, contractors and others, according to the White House, most waiting to be evacuated after the Taliban takeover. Washington wants to complete the exodus before its August 31 withdrawal deadline, and thousands of US soldiers were at the airport as the Pentagon planned to ramp up flights of its huge C-17 transport jets to as many as two dozen a day. US officials said they were in contact with Taliban commanders to ensure the flight operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport remained safe from attack and that citizens and Afghans seeking to leave had safe passage to the airport. But State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that the US could decide to keep its core diplomatic presence, now operating out of the airport after the US embassy was shuttered, after August 31. "If it is safe and responsible for us to potentially stay longer, that is something we may be able to look at," Price said. - Taliban assurances - Price also called on the Taliban up follow through on promises to respect the rights of citizens including women. "If the Taliban says they are going to respect the rights of their citizens, we will be looking for them to uphold that statement," he said. Despite some reports that people are being harassed and even beaten as they try to leave, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said "large numbers" had been able to reach the airport. "The Taliban have informed us they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment," he told reporters. At the Pentagon, Major General Hank Taylor said that US military officials at the airport had also been in communication with Taliban commanders about ensuring that the evacuations would continue safely over the coming days. "We have had no hostile interactions, no attack and no threat by the Taliban," said Taylor. He said that since the airport was reopened early Tuesday, the US military had evacuated close to 800 people, among them 165 Americans, on seven flights. The others include Afghans granted US refugee visas, mostly for having worked as translators for American and NATO forces; other foreign nationals; and other unspecified "at risk" Afghans. The US Department of Defense has poured troops into the airport since Saturday to protect the exodus as the Taliban insurgents entered Kabul after a lightning siege across the country and seized power. Taylor said the number of US troops would rise from 2,500 on Monday to around 4,000 by late Tuesday. He said the US aimed to increase its airlift to one aircraft an hour so that between 5,000 and 9,000 passengers could be carried out per day. "We are confident we have taken the right steps to resume safe and orderly operations at the airport," he said. Some other countries, including Germany and France, have also been able to pick up their nationals and Afghans qualified to travel to those countries. - Airport chaos - Taylor spoke a day after security broke down at the airport, with videos showing hundreds of Afghans on the runway trying to impede a giant C-17 transport and clinging to it. Videos appeared to show two people falling to their deaths from the aircraft after it took off. Another person was later found dead in a wheel well. US Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said they were investigating the incidents. "Before the air crew could offload the cargo, the aircraft was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians," she said. "Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible."
Timeline: Taliban takeover in Afghanistan - At the gates - On Sunday, Taliban fighters appear on the edge of Kabul after a lightning offensive that began in May as US and NATO troops began to withdraw. In the space of 10 days, they had seized city after city across the country without resistance. - 'Peaceful transfer' - "The Afghan people should not worry... there will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power," interior minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal says in a recorded speech. Embattled president Ashraf Ghani urges government forces to maintain security in the capital. A Qatar-based Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen says the group wants a swift takeover. - President flees - On Sunday evening, former vice president Abdullah Abdullah announces that president Ghani has left the country. The Taliban then say their militants have entered multiple districts of the capital. - 'The Taliban have won' - Television images show the Taliban have entered the capital and seized the presidential palace. In a message on Facebook, Ghani says he fled to avoid a "flood of bloodshed" and that the "Taliban have won". He does not give his location, but the local Tolo media organisation suggests he is in Tajikistan. - Airport chaos - People besiege the airport, the only exit route from the country, and chaos breaks out on the tarmac, carrying on into Monday as people try to board the few flights available. All military and civilian flights are halted at Kabul airport, before resuming in the evening. - 'Terrorism sanctuary' fears - China becomes the first country to say it is ready to deepen "friendly and cooperative" relations with Afghanistan, while Russia says the situation in Kabul "is stabilising". The UN Security Council says the international community must ensure Afghanistan does not become a breeding ground for terrorism under the Taliban, following an emergency meeting in New York. French President Emmanuel Macron adds that Afghanistan should not again become a "sanctuary of terrorism". - Biden defends exit - US President Joe Biden cuts short his holiday break to address the nation. He insists he has no regrets and emphasises that US troops cannot defend a nation whose leaders "gave up and fled". "We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future," Biden says. - Back to work - The Taliban move quickly on Tuesday to restart Kabul, telling government staff to resume their duties "without any fear". Some shops reopen and evacuation flights from Kabul's airport restart. - 'Shameful' for West - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport are "shameful for the political West". Germany is one of several European countries to announce they would stop sending development aid to Afghanistan, as Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for coordinated EU action to take in the most vulnerable people from the country. - NATO blames Afghan leadership - NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg blames Afghan leaders for the "tragedy", saying it "failed to stand up to the Taliban". Russia says that the Taliban's initial assurances have been a "positive signal". China accuses Washington of "leaving an awful mess" in Afghanistan. - Deputy leader returns - The Taliban's deputy leader and co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar returns to Afghanistan.
Weapon seizures 'massive boon' for Taliban as cities fall Kabul (AFP) Aug 14, 2021 The United States spent billions supplying the Afghan military with the tools to defeat the Taliban, but the rapid capitulation of the armed forces means that weaponry is now fuelling the insurgents' astonishing battlefield successes. "We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools - let me emphasise: all the tools," US President Joe Biden said when defending his decision to withdraw American forces and leave the fight to the locals. But Afghan defence forces have shown little appetite for ... read more
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