KABUL — All US and NATO troops have left the
biggest air base in Afghanistan, a US defense official told AFP Friday, signaling
the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country was imminent after
two decades of war.
اضافة اعلان
Bagram Air Base served as the linchpin for US operations in the rugged
country, where the long war against the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies was
fought with air strikes and resupply missions from the airfield.
"All coalition forces are off Bagram," said the official — who
asked not to be identified — without specifying when the last foreign troops
left the base, 50km north of the capital Kabul.
He did not say when it would be officially handed over to Afghan forces, but
ministry of defense spokesman Rohullah Ahmadzai said government authorities
were "fully prepared" to take over the base.
The US military and NATO are in the final stages of winding up involvement
in Afghanistan, bringing home an unspecified number of remaining troops by a
deadline of September 11.
The Taliban have launched relentless offensives across Afghanistan in the
past two months, gobbling up dozens of districts as Afghan security forces have
largely consolidated their power in the country's major urban areas.
The ability of Afghan forces to maintain control of Bagram airfield will
likely prove pivotal to maintaining security in Kabul and keeping pressure on
the Taliban.
The exit of foreign forces from Bagram base "symbolizes that
Afghanistan is alone, abandoned, and left to defend itself against the
Taliban's onslaught", said Australia-based Afghanistan expert Nishank
Motwani.
"Having reached home, Americans and allied forces will now watch what
they fought so hard to build over 20 years burn down from afar and knowing that
the Afghan men and women they fought with risk losing everything."
Media reports say the Pentagon will probably retain about 600 US troops in
Afghanistan to guard the vast US diplomatic compound in Kabul.
Residents from Bagram said security will only deteriorate with the exit of
foreign forces.
"The situation is already chaotic. ... there is a lot of insecurity and
the government does not have (enough) weapons and equipment," Matiullah,
who owns a footwear shop in Bagram bazaar, told AFP.
"Since they started the withdrawal, the situation has got worse. There
is no work. ... there is no business," said Fazal Karim, a bicycle
mechanic.
Over the years the mini-city has been visited by hundreds of thousands of US
and NATO service members and contractors.
At one point it boasted swimming pools, cinemas, and spas — and even a
boardwalk featuring fast-food outlets such as Burger King and Pizza Hut.
The base also housed a prison that held thousands of Taliban inmates.
Bagram was built by the US for its Afghan ally during the Cold War in the
1950s as a bulwark against the Soviet Union in the north.
Ironically, it became the staging point for the Soviet invasion of the
country in 1979, and the Red Army expanded it significantly during its
near-decade-long occupation.
When Moscow pulled out, Bagram became central to the raging civil war — it
was reported that at one point the Taliban controlled one end of the three-kilometer
runway and the opposition Northern Alliance the other.
In recent months, Bagram has come under rocket barrages claimed by Daesh,
stirring fears that militants are already eyeing the base for future attacks.
As of May 2021, there were about 9,500 foreign troops in Afghanistan, of
which US troops made up the largest contingent of 2,500.
So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their
contingents.
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