The withdrawal from Afghanistan begins: Around 10,000 NATO soldiers from the Resolute Support training mission, including 2,500 soldiers from the USA and around 1,100 from Germany, are said to have left the country by September at the latest.
In fact, according to NATO and the Bundeswehr, the withdrawal has already begun. Material has been brought out of the country for weeks. NATO said that since the security of the troops had the highest priority, no details about the operation would be given, such as troop numbers or timetables for individual states. Most recently, 36 NATO states and partner countries were involved in the operation.
Taliban attacks expected
Military strategists expect additional dangers from possible attacks by the militant Islamist Taliban on soldiers of the alliance. The US Army has heavy weapons ready. For Germany, the Special Forces Command (KSK) is supposed to secure the withdrawal. Any Taliban attacks during the withdrawal should be answered with a “decisive reaction”, according to NATO.
The USA, Russia, China and Pakistan jointly called on the Taliban on Friday not to disrupt the withdrawal with attacks. After a four-way meeting in Doha, they appealed to the conflicting parties to reduce the level of violence and to seek a negotiated solution. A government installed by force will not be supported. Attacks on civilians would be strongly condemned.
Biden announced withdrawal
US President Joe Biden (78) announced in the middle of the month that all US soldiers would withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11th at the latest. Immediately afterwards, NATO announced that the alliance would end the operation completely. According to the alliance, the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan has already begun and should be completed in “a few months”.
This also ends the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan. Representatives from the USA, Russia, China and Pakistan have discussed Afghanistan several times over the past two years. (SDA)