KABUL — The Taliban warned on Monday there would be
"consequences" if the United States and its allies extend their
presence in Afghanistan beyond next week, as chaos continued to overwhelm Kabul
airport with tens of thousands of people still desperate to flee.
اضافة اعلان
To oversee a chaotic airlift of foreigners and Afghans
desperate to escape the return of the hardline Islamist regime, thousands of
troops have poured back into Afghanistan and pressure is growing on Washington
to extend an August 31 withdrawal
deadline.
But the Taliban Monday showed no willingness to compromise,
with spokesman Suhail Shaheen telling Sky News that staying beyond the agreed
deadline would be "extending occupation".
"If the US or UK were to seek additional time to
continue evacuations — the answer is no. ... There would be consequences,"
he said.
Two Taliban sources, meanwhile, told AFP the group would not
announce the makeup of its government or cabinet until the last US soldier has
left the country.
Harrowing scenes
The rush to
leave Kabul has sparked harrowing scenes and
killed at least eight people, some crushed to death and at least one person
after falling off a plane.
The German defense ministry said Monday an Afghan man was
killed and three others injured in a dawn firefight between local guards and
unknown assailants.
German and American troops "participated in a further
exchange of fire," it said in a statement.
The Taliban, infamous for an ultra-strict interpretation of
sharia during their initial 1996–2001 rule, have repeatedly claimed to be
different this time and declared an amnesty for government forces and
officials.
But an intelligence document for the UN said militants were
going door-to-door hunting former government officials and those who worked
with US and NATO forces.
'Pain and loss'
President Joe Biden has insisted he wants to end the US
military presence and airlifts by the end of the month.
But with the European Union and Britain saying it would be
impossible to get everyone out by then, Biden is under pressure to extend the
deadline.
Germany said on Monday it was in talks with NATO allies and
the Taliban to keep Kabul airport open for evacuations beyond August 31, while
France voiced "concern" over the deadline, saying "additional
time is needed to complete ongoing operations".
Speaking at the White House on Sunday, Biden said
negotiations were under way to explore the possibility of extending the
deadline.
He also acknowledged the tragic scenes at the airport, which
have included babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire
fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes.
He said, however, they were part of the cost of departure.
"There is no way to evacuate this many people without
pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see," he said.
The Pentagon on Monday said about 16,000 people were
evacuated over the past 24 hours from Kabul airport, taking to 37,000 the
number relocated since the intense airlift operations started on August 14.
'Peace and calm'
In the capital, the Taliban have enforced some sense of calm
in a city long marred by violent crime, with their armed forces patrolling the
streets and manning checkpoints.
Visually, they have also been looking to stamp their
authority, ensuring the tricolored national flag is replaced with their white
banner.
At a roadside in Kabul on the weekend, young men sold
Taliban flags, which bear in black text the Muslim proclamation of faith and
the regime's formal name: "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan".
"Our goal is to spread the flag of the Islamic Emirate
throughout Afghanistan," said seller Ahmad Shakib, who studies economics
at university.
Resistance
Outside of Kabul, there have been
flickers of resistance against the Taliban.
Some ex-government troops have
gathered in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital — long known as an
anti-Taliban bastion.
The Taliban said Monday their
fighters had surrounded resistance forces holed up in the valley, but were
looking to negotiate rather than take the fight to them.
Taliban fighters "are stationed
near Panjshir", spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted, adding the group was
trying to resolve this issue peacefully".
The announcement follows scattered
reports of clashes overnight, with pro-Taliban social media accounts claiming
gunmen were massing, and Afghanistan's former vice president Amrullah Saleh
saying resistance forces were holding strong.
One of the leaders of the movement
in Panjshir, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed
anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The NRF is prepared for a
"long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the
Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP
in an interview on the weekend.
With government offices still mostly
closed, many Afghans are worried about being paid — but the Taliban announced
the appointment of a central bank governor Monday to keep the wheels of finance
moving.
Civil servants were told at the
weekend, however, that they wouldn't get their salaries until a new government
was formed.
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