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Pentagon spokesperson, John Kirby, Confirm to leave this Tuesday “Hundreds” of American soldiers After completing his mission at the Kabul International Airport in the capital of Afghanistan, he emphasized that the withdrawal will not affect the evacuation that is expected to end on August 31.
Kirby made it clear that these soldiers had left the United States on Tuesday, on the same day as the President of the United States. Joe Biden reiterated that the August 31 exit date is still validBut it depends on whether the Taliban continue to cooperate.
The spokesperson said: “These forces represent a combination of headquarters personnel, maintenance and other support functions that are planned to leave and complete their tasks at the airport.”
Similarly, he described the progress of these units in Asian countries as “prudent and efficient” management, and ensured this “No impact on related tasks”In order to achieve this, the military presence in the terminal building was strengthened last week.
On the other hand, a U.S. official pointed out that “you can have a smaller unit but still perform tasks”, and the Pentagon has admitted Threats posed by terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State Found near the airport.
this Evacuation rhythm From Hamid Karzai International Airport Increased in recent days The deadline set by Washington for withdrawing troops from this Asian country that has fallen into a major crisis after the Taliban came to power is approaching. The Taliban does not want the United States to continue to station troops after this date.
On the last day, they have evacuated More than 12,000 people 6,400 people from Kabul flew on 19 US military flights, and 5,600 people flew on 31 coalition flights. According to White House sources, since August 14, the United States has assisted in the evacuation of approximately 70,700 people and the resettlement of 75,900 people.
In this regard, Biden promised in front of the leaders of the Group of Seven on Tuesday that the United States will lead efforts to support Afghan refugees, and he condemned the harsh conditions faced by certain places where these people arrived after leaving. territory.
Kirby admitted on Tuesday that “some terrible circumstances” had occurred at the Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar, where Washington had temporarily transferred thousands of evacuees.
“we are very Worry Like anyone else, bad sanitary conditions due to the large number of people and the speed at which they get there (to the base)”, he said, to ensure that the Qatar base is “improving”. And it has agreed to receive 8,000 special visa applications People and their families.
Controversial visit
On the other hand, this Tuesday’s criticism was caused by Two U.S. congressmen visited Afghanistan unannounced, Seth Morton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Peter Major, a Republican from Michigan.
In a joint statement collected by CNN, they reported that they went to the Afghan capital to “supervise the mission of evacuation of Americans and allies,” and detailed that the trip was conducted in secret to “reduce risks.”