Kabul : Taliban A week after the radical Islamist group returned to power that stunned the world, Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital.
The United States has warned of security threats and The European Union acknowledged that it was “impossible” to remove all those at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal regime since 1996-2001.
But frightened Afghans continue to try to escape, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport, where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the large numbers of people trying to evacuate.
Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaki said, “The US, with all its might and facilities… has failed to bring order at the airport. There is peace and tranquility in the whole country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport.” ”
Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that seven people had died in the crowd, without giving further details.
A journalist, who was among a group of other media persons and academics who was lucky enough to fly into the airport on Sunday, described desperate scenes of people surrounding his bus on the way.
“They were showing us their passports and shouting ‘take us with you… please take us with you’,” the journalist told AFP.
“The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to fire in the air to drive them away.”
Britain’s Sky News broadcast footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport on Saturday. It was not clear how he died.
Reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths “inevitable” and said people were being “crushed”, while others were “dehydrated and frightened”.
The footage was the latest imagery of utter despair, after horrifying scenes of people picking up a child on a wall at the airport and hanging on departing planes.
The United States, which has thousands of troops trying to secure the airport, has set a deadline of August 31 to complete the evacuation.
But according to the Biden administration, there are 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated.
Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are trying to flee.
US President Joe Biden has described the evacuation operations as “one of the biggest, toughest airlifts in history”.
The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport due to “security threats”.
No specific reason given, but a white House The official later said that Biden had been briefed about security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.
Me Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell made a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would be a success.
“They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It is mathematically impossible,” he told AFP.
Borrell said that “we have complained to the Americans” that their airport security was overly tight and hindered efforts by Afghans who worked for Europeans to enter.
on Saturday, pentagon It said 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, had been evacuated since the operation began on August 14.
Thousands others have left on foreign military flights.
Focusing on forming a government, the Taliban are publicly satisfied with the US military overseeing the airlift.
An official told AFP that the group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadist leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days.
These include the leaders of the Haqqani Network, a US-designated terrorist organization with a million-dollar reward for its leadership.
The Taliban stunned the world by storming into Kabul last week, ending two decades of war, facing virtually no opposition from government forces trained and equipped by a US-led coalition.
However, there has since been a flurry of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban stronghold.
One of the leaders of the movement named National Resistance Front is the son of renowned anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Masood.
The NRF is prepared for a “long-term conflict” but is still seeking talks with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazari told AFP in an interview.
“The terms of the peace deal with the Taliban are decentralization, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights and freedoms for all.”
The United States has warned of security threats and The European Union acknowledged that it was “impossible” to remove all those at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal regime since 1996-2001.
But frightened Afghans continue to try to escape, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport, where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the large numbers of people trying to evacuate.
Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaki said, “The US, with all its might and facilities… has failed to bring order at the airport. There is peace and tranquility in the whole country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport.” ”
Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that seven people had died in the crowd, without giving further details.
A journalist, who was among a group of other media persons and academics who was lucky enough to fly into the airport on Sunday, described desperate scenes of people surrounding his bus on the way.
“They were showing us their passports and shouting ‘take us with you… please take us with you’,” the journalist told AFP.
“The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to fire in the air to drive them away.”
Britain’s Sky News broadcast footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport on Saturday. It was not clear how he died.
Reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths “inevitable” and said people were being “crushed”, while others were “dehydrated and frightened”.
The footage was the latest imagery of utter despair, after horrifying scenes of people picking up a child on a wall at the airport and hanging on departing planes.
The United States, which has thousands of troops trying to secure the airport, has set a deadline of August 31 to complete the evacuation.
But according to the Biden administration, there are 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated.
Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are trying to flee.
US President Joe Biden has described the evacuation operations as “one of the biggest, toughest airlifts in history”.
The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport due to “security threats”.
No specific reason given, but a white House The official later said that Biden had been briefed about security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.
Me Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell made a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would be a success.
“They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It is mathematically impossible,” he told AFP.
Borrell said that “we have complained to the Americans” that their airport security was overly tight and hindered efforts by Afghans who worked for Europeans to enter.
on Saturday, pentagon It said 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, had been evacuated since the operation began on August 14.
Thousands others have left on foreign military flights.
Focusing on forming a government, the Taliban are publicly satisfied with the US military overseeing the airlift.
An official told AFP that the group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadist leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days.
These include the leaders of the Haqqani Network, a US-designated terrorist organization with a million-dollar reward for its leadership.
The Taliban stunned the world by storming into Kabul last week, ending two decades of war, facing virtually no opposition from government forces trained and equipped by a US-led coalition.
However, there has since been a flurry of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban stronghold.
One of the leaders of the movement named National Resistance Front is the son of renowned anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Masood.
The NRF is prepared for a “long-term conflict” but is still seeking talks with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazari told AFP in an interview.
“The terms of the peace deal with the Taliban are decentralization, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights and freedoms for all.”
.