Western nations rushed to evacuate people from
Afghanistan on Wednesday as the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of
foreign troops drew closer and fears grew that many could be left behind to an
uncertain fate under the country's new Taliban rulers.
اضافة اعلان
In one of the biggest such airlifts ever, the United States
and its allies have evacuated more than 70,000 people, including their
citizens, NATO personnel and Afghans at risk, since August 14, the day before
the Taliban swept into the capital Kabul to bring to an end the 20-year foreign
military presence.
US President Joe Biden said US troops in Afghanistan faced
mounting danger, while aid agencies warned of an impending humanitarian crisis
for those left behind.
Biden has spurned calls from allies to extend the
deadline,
set under an agreement struck by the previous administration of Donald Trump
with the hardline Islamist group last year.
But he said on Tuesday the deadline
could be met.
"The sooner we can finish, the better," Biden
said. "Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops."
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
there was growing concern about the risk of suicide bombings by Daesh at the
airport.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the deadline for
evacuating people was up to the last minute of the month.
France said it would push on with evacuations as long as
possible but it was likely to end these operations in the coming hours or days.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would try to help
Afghans who worked with its soldiers and aid organizations and wished to leave
Afghanistan after the deadline expires.
"The end of the air bridge in a few days must not mean
the end of efforts to protect Afghan helpers and help those Afghans who have
been left in a bigger emergency with the takeover of the Taliban," she
told the German parliament.
Tens of thousands of Afghans fearing persecution have
thronged Kabul's airport since the Taliban takeover, the lucky ones securing
seats on flights.
On Wednesday, many people milled about outside the airport —
where soldiers from the United States, Britain and other nations were trying to
maintain order amid the dust and heat — hoping to get out.
They carried bags and suitcases stuffed with possessions,
and waved documents at soldiers in the hope of gaining entry.
One man, standing
knee-deep in a flooded ditch, passed a child to a man above.
"I learned from an email from London that the Americans
are taking people out, that's why I've come so I can go abroad," said one
man, Aizaz Ullah.
While the focus is now on those trying to flee, the risk of starvation,
disease and persecution is rising for the rest of the population, aid
agencies say.
"There's a perfect storm coming because of several
years of drought, conflict, economic deterioration, compounded by COVID,"
David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program, told Reuters
in Doha, saying that about 14 million people were threatened with starvation.
The UN human rights chief said she had received credible
reports of serious violations by the Taliban, including "summary
executions" of civilians and Afghan security forces who had surrendered.
The Taliban have said they will investigate reports of atrocities.
The Taliban's 1996-2001 rule was marked by harsh sharia law,
with many political rights and basic freedoms curtailed and women severely
oppressed. Afghanistan was also a hub for anti-Western militants, and
Washington, London and others fear it might become so again.
Land routes
The Taliban said all foreign
evacuations must be completed
by August 31. It has asked the United States to stop urging talented Afghans to
leave while also trying to persuade people at the airport to go home, saying
they had nothing to fear.
"Foreign troops should withdraw by the deadline. It
will pave the way for resumption of civilian flights," Taliban spokesman
Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter.
"People with legal documents can travel through
commercial flights after August 31."
The Dutch government said it was all but certain that many
people eligible for asylum would not be taken out in time.
Dutch troops had managed to get more than 100 people to
Kabul airport, Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag said, but hundreds of others risked
being left behind.
The US-backed government collapsed as the United States and
its allies withdrew troops two decades after they ousted the Taliban in the
weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States by Al-Qaeda,
whose leaders had found safe haven in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The Taliban were also switching focus from their military
victory to how to run a country in crisis. They have appointed veteran figures
to the posts of finance minister and defense minister since wresting control of
all government offices, the presidential palace and parliament, two Taliban
members said.
Afghanistan's Pajhwok news agency said Gul Agha had been
named as finance minister and Sadr Ibrahim acting interior minister. Former
Guantanamo detainee Mullah
Abdul Qayyum Zakir was named acting defense minister, Al Jazeera news
channel reported, citing a Taliban source.
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