Although the President of the United States has confirmed that the evacuation is about to end, his Secretary of State assured on Wednesday that the Taliban has pledged to put Americans and Afghans at risk after the August 31 deadline. That night, Washington and its allies reported a terrorist threat at Kabul Airport. Here are the main things to remember on Wednesday, August 25th.
- The Taliban promised to let Americans and Afghans leave at a risk after August 31
The head of American diplomacy, Anthony Brinken, pledged on Wednesday, August 25, that the Taliban promised that Americans and Afghans will remain in the country after August 31.
“There is no deadline for our work to help American nationals who may want to leave,” “and the many Afghans who have been with us over the years,” he insisted. This shows that even if they withdraw, the U.S. military can still leave the candidate.
However, he did not specify how their departure will be arranged because the US military will leave the country at the end of this month-US President Joe Biden confirmed the deadline on Tuesday.
Germany had earlier stated that it had received assurances from the Taliban that after the final withdrawal of US troops on August 31, Afghans could leave their country on commercial flights.
- The U.S. Embassy advises against going to Kabul Airport
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has advised American nationals not to go to the city’s international airport. U.S. citizens already at the airport are required to leave the area immediately. The security alert has been posted on the embassy’s website. She asked Americans to “always pay attention to the surrounding environment, especially in the crowd.”
- London and Canberra warned of “terrorist threat” at Kabul Airport
In turn, the United Kingdom advised its nationals not to go to Kabul Airport to evacuate from the country on Wednesday night, warning them of the high risk of “terrorist attacks.”
“Don’t go to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul,” the Ministry of Foreign and Federal Affairs wrote on its website. He emphasized: “The high and permanent threat of terrorist attacks exists.” “If you are near the airport, leave it in a safe place and wait for further instructions,” the British diplomat added. “If you can leave Afghanistan safely by other means, please do so immediately.”
For its part, the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to a “very high threat of terrorist attack”. Like London, Australia advises against going to the airport and talking to people who are already there, advising them to “go to a safe place and wait for further information”.
- Evacuation update
The White House stated that approximately 88,000 people have been evacuated since the start of the Taliban’s previous airlift into Kabul on August 14. According to General Hank Taylor of the US General Staff, approximately “58,000 to 60,000” left Afghanistan by the United States alone.
In the last few hours, operations have intensified: in the 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday, nearly 19,000 people were transferred, including 11,200 in the United States and 7,800 in other countries.
Since the start of the airlift on August 14, as many as 1,500 Americans still need to be evacuated from Afghanistan, while another 4,500 have been able to leave.
- Belgium ends its withdrawal, Turkey withdraws
Belgium announced that the evacuation of its nationals and the Afghans it protects had ceased on Wednesday night, and France warned that if the August 31 date is maintained, its airlift will stop as early as Thursday night.
The Turkish side announced the withdrawal of its soldiers, who were guarding Kabul Airport with the US army.
- Berlin encourages dialogue with the Taliban
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the international community should continue to “dialogue with the Taliban” in order to maintain the achievements of recent years.
In the case of Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Poutine and Xi Jinping, they have announced that they want to strengthen cooperation to counter the “threat of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan”.
- The Afghan was born on a U.S. military aircraft named Reach, the code name of the device
The commander of the US Forces in Europe revealed on Wednesday that an Afghan girl who was born on a US military plane evacuated her parents to the base in Ramstein, Germany. She was named Reach, code-named the device.
AFP and Reuters