Tuesday, August 31, 2021. It is the day on which the last US Army aircraft will take off in Afghanistan. US President Joe Biden (78) officially ends the Afghanistan mission after 20 years and leaves the residents to the Islamist Taliban after the fall of the government.
An extension of the assignment is no longer an option. Because of the increasing danger in the chaos already prevailing at the airport in Kabul, Biden is pushing not to stay in the powder keg of Afghanistan for a day. Because it will hardly stay with the previous, devastating attacks of the IS.
Biden said: “Every day we are there is another day we know that ISIS will attempt to attack the airport and attack both US and allied forces and innocent civilians.”
114,000 people flown out
Most of the allies have already completed their evacuation flights in the past few days. The Taliban, with whom the Americans even entered into a kind of cooperation after the IS attacks, threaten with consequences if the US stays in Afghanistan even one day longer than agreed.
Around 114,000 people had been flown out in the past two weeks. Over the weekend, the Taliban began to cordon off the airport. On Sunday there were still around 4,000 soldiers and around 1,000 civilians at the airport who wanted to leave.
A Western security official told Reuters: “We want to make sure that every foreign civilian and all those at risk are evacuated. As soon as this process is completed, the troops will take off. “
Little hope
But there are still tens of thousands of Afghans in the country who worked for or supported the Western troops. Many are on the arduous and dangerous road to Kabul.
Even if they are no longer waited for, there is hope for those with a travel permit. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, 44, said on Sunday: “The Taliban have announced that they will allow safe passage.” However, it is not certain whether the Islamists will really stick to it.
NATO allies are also fighting to keep the airport open for urgently needed humanitarian aid flights in the coming days.
UN wants safety zone
A Taliban official told Reuters that technical staff will be ready to take control of the airport on Tuesday. “We are waiting for the last signal from the Americans.” Both sides would strive for a quick handover. Apparently, the Taliban have asked for help from Qatar, which has taken on a mediating role, to manage the airport.
In order to protect Afghans from the Taliban and to enable them to leave the country even after they have withdrawn, the UN is bringing a new solution into play. French President Emmanuel Macron (43) said: “Our draft resolution aims to define a security zone in Kabul that allows humanitarian operations to continue.”