Monday was the most successful day so far: 16,000 people were evacuated from Kabul airport – Topky

General Hank Taylor told reporters that 61 military, commercial and charter flights had flown from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in the last 24 hours (until 09.00 CET on Monday), with the help of many countries. They took people fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban militant movement came to power. Of the total number evacuated that day, US military aircraft carried 11,000 people, Taylor added. Monday was the most successful evacuation day so far, writes the AP agency.

General Taylor further reported that the number of people displaced from Afghanistan by US aircraft since July reached 42,000, 37,000 of which had been evacuated since August 14, when intensive evacuation air operations began after the Taliban’s conquest of Kabul. Among those evacuees are “several thousand” U.S. citizens, as well as thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. military and applied for or had already received special immigration visas. Among them, Afghans are also considered endangered – the Taliban may attack them for their work in NGOs, the media and other jobs, Defense Department chief spokesman John Kirby explained.

The spokesman also said that the faster pace of evacuation is being achieved in part through coordination with Taliban commanders in transporting people to the airport. “For now, there is a need for ongoing coordination and a policy of non-conflict with the Taliban,” Kirby explained. “We see that this non-conflict works well in the sense that it allows access to the airport as well as reducing the size of the crowds in front of the airport,” he added. However, this approach is still difficult: the US military has already had to go outside the airport to pick up the Americans by helicopter. U.S. officials said a military helicopter picked up 16 U.S. citizens on Monday and brought them to the airport for evacuation. This was at least the second such rescue mission outside the airport; Kirby said three Thursday, three Army helicopters had been picked up by 169 Americans near a hotel next to the airport gate and transported to the airport.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told the White House that talks with the Taliban were continuing, with the administration looking for other ways to safely transport more Americans and people to Kabul airport. “We negotiate with the Taliban every day, through both political and security channels.” Sullivan announced. He added that in the end Biden himself would have to decide whether evacuation operations under the leadership of the army would continue after August 31. A memento of the great security threats lurking for evacuations is a video released by the Pentagon. He captures a laser aiming at a C-17 aircraft of the US Air Force near the airport and is apparently trying to upset the pilot during landing.

Slovenia convenes extraordinary EU Council on Afghanistan

Slovenia, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, convened an extraordinary meeting on Thursday on the situation in Afghanistan. The DPA reported on Monday. The aim of the meeting is to discuss “the EU’s response to current developments in Afghanistan also in terms of internal affairs, including the possible impact on migration,” a spokesman for the Slovenian presidency said on Monday.

Thursday’s meeting will take place at the level of ambassadors of EU member states. The spokesman also said that a meeting of justice and home affairs ministers, who should address the issue of migration, could be expected in the near future.

Source: SITA / Sgt. Samuel Ruiz / US Marine Corps via AP

France is tracking evacuated Afghanistan, reportedly linked to the Taliban

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has ordered the surveillance of a man evacuated from Afghanistan because he is suspected of joining the Taliban militant movement. The AFP news agency reported on Monday. In recent days, France has evacuated about 1,300 Afghans through a military base in Abu Dhabi. French President Emmanuel Macron has said that his country is opening its arms to people at risk from the Taliban, who unexpectedly quickly occupied Afghanistan and the capital Kabul.

Four other people close to the main suspect are also being tracked by French intelligence, Darmanin told AFP. “We think he seems to be connected to the Taliban, although this man helped a lot with the evacuation from the French embassy in Kabul,” said the minister about the main suspect. “France is humane, but it’s also vigilant.” also wrote on Twitter minister.

France is humane, but it is also vigilant. In the crisis management of Afghanistan, the @gouvernementFR continue to provide all necessary provisions to ensure the security of France, as it is all weekly. pic.twitter.com/GoPt58E4Wp

– Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 23, 2021

According to a ministry document that had the opportunity to see the AFP, the man admitted to membership in the Taliban and declared that he had worked as an armed commander of the Taliban checkpoint in Kabul. “Due to the considerable difficulties in the security screening of repatriated people, the French authorities have agreed to take this man and his family on board,” the evacuation flight added. When the man arrived in Abu Dhabi, he was examined by the French intelligence service DGSI and is now being monitored, and he was notified. Four other evacuees with whom he allegedly has close relations are also under surveillance, Darmanin added.

Source: SITA / Sgt. Samuel Ruiz / US Marine Corps via AP