"If the United States or the United Kingdom ask for more time to continue with the evacuations, the answer is no. Or there will be consequences," Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, told Britain's Sky News channel.
Read more: The Lost War In Afghanistan
US President Joe Biden, under pressure from his allies, opened on Sunday the possibility of keeping the troops beyond August 31 to continue with the evacuation, something that for Shaheen would mean "prolonging the occupation."
The G7 will meet on Today to discuss how to proceed with the evacuation, amid European pressure to extend the military presence in Kabul.
Pentagon plans to complete evacuations soon
The US Department of Defense continues to plan to withdraw all American troops from the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul by the end of August. The goal is to complete the evacuation operation by this deadline, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. All forces are currently concentrated on this. When the Taliban announced that they would not agree to a potential extension of the evacuation mission of western states from Afghanistan , Kirby said that they had seen the public statements of the Taliban and were aware that this was their wish.
Read also: The Taliban Are Erasing What The West Has Achieved
Kirby avoided the question of when, in this case, the US would have to stop accepting people for an evacuation at the airport in Kabul in order to finally handle the departure of the several thousand US soldiers alone. This is taken into account in the planning, he simply said. According to the Pentagon, around 5,800 US soldiers are currently deployed at the airport in Kabul to secure the evacuations.
Britain had previously asked the US to extend the deadline for the end of evacuation flights. The EU and Great Britain consider a rescue of all those in need of protection from Afghanistan by the end of August to be unrealistic in view of the chaotic conditions at the airport. However, they also admit that European forces cannotholdthe airport without US support . Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge President Joe Biden for an extension at a planned special meeting of the G7 on Tuesday, the British government said. She currently chairs the G7 and organized the virtual meeting of heads of state and government.
The federal government is also in favor of extending the US mission. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that a corresponding initiative by the British Prime Minister was expressly welcomed. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) said the federal government is also in talks with NATO partners about the civilian operation of Kabul airport beyond August. This is also discussed with the Taliban.
"It's about hours now"
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was also concerned about the planned withdrawal of US troops. It will take additional time to get all foreign nationals and Afghan local staff to safety, he said during a visit to Al-Dhafra Air Force Base in the United Arab Emirates. The French military has set up a hub there for its evacuation flights from Afghanistan.
SOME 16,000 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED FROM KABUL AIRPORT IN THE LAST 24 HOURS
Some 16,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan through the Kabul airport in the past 24 hours, the Pentagon said on Monday, as the August 31 deadline approached that has prompted an acceleration of operations. This figure brings the number of people moved out of Afghanistan since July to 42,000, including 37,000 since the escalation of air evacuations on August 14, a day before Kabul was captured by the Taliban, said spokesman John Kirby.
Read more: How The World Is Glossing Over Afghanistan
From 0700 GMT on Sunday to 0700 GMT on Monday, 61 military and civil aircraft from various countries took off from Kabul airport, said General Hank Taylor of the US General Staff. 16,000 people evacuated in that period, 11,000 were evacuated on military flights, he said.
Do You Know What we Have Posted on
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment