The first American evacuation troops began to leave Afghanistan – PRAVDA.sk

The first American troops to evacuate from the country began to withdraw from Afghanistan on Tuesday. This happened on the day when US President Joe Biden confirmed that he did not intend to extend the deadline of 31 August for the expulsion of members of the US military from Afghanistan.

TASR,
ČTK

25.08.2021 06:30, updated: 08:26

US troops patrol at checkpoint during evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul

This was stated for CNN television by two unnamed representatives from the environment of the American Ministry of Defense. They did not say how many troops had already left Afghanistan, but assured that the start of the evacuation did not affect the evacuation of people from Kabul Airport.

The Pentagon said Monday that approximately 5,800 U.S. troops are operating at Kabul International Airport to oversee the safety of evacuation flights. “The reduction (number of US forces) does not yet affect the mission,” said one CNN official.

According to him, the decision on what military personnel is needed to carry out the mission is in the competence of the operation commander and depends on several factors, such as the number of open departure gates or the number of people arriving at the airport. The whole mission can be carried out with a smaller number of soldiers, and therefore with less security risk.

According to CNN, only a small part of the evacuation troops have left Afghanistan so far. The number of evacuates is expected to increase in the coming days, and at the same time the number of American soldiers leaving the country will increase.

In a speech at the White House on Tuesday, Biden said the United States was “on track” to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan and end the evacuation of people from Kabul by August 31. According to him, every day there is a growing risk that members of the US military in Kabul will become the target of attacks by the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

He stressed, however, that whether the relocation could be completed by the end of August would depend on Taliban cooperation, which he said must allow people access to Kabul airport and not disrupt evacuation operations.

In the current precarious situation, Joe Biden has instructed the Foreign and Defense Ministries to draw up alternative removal schedules in case this is necessary. The Taliban rejects any postponement of US troops’ departure from the country and warns that such a move would have unspecified “consequences.

In his speech, the US president said that since August 14, the United States has helped evacuate more than 70,700 people from Afghanistan.

Russia is sending four planes to Afghanistan

Russia is sending four military transport planes to Afghanistan, evacuating more than 500 citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, but also Ukraine. Referring to the Ministry of Defense, Interfax reported on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Defense, a group of four aircraft is waiting for further instructions at the airport in Ulyanovsk. All aircraft are equipped with medical staff and materials to provide the necessary medical assistance during the flight, the TASS agency wrote.

With the deadline for US troops to leave Kabul Airport in recent days, Western countries have accelerated the evacuation of their citizens, diplomats and Afghan collaborators.