However, there were several reports of violence as Taliban leaders fired shots at protestors for raising the Aghanistan national flag in Jalalabad.
Despite claims from U.S. department leaders that Taliban forces are allowing safe passage to the Kabul airport, journalists on the ground report Taliban soldiers firing into crowds to prevent civilians from leaving the country.
The U.S. says it evacuated 2,000 people over the last 24 hours and looks to increase the flow of people and aircraft out of Kabul, Defense Secretary Llyod Austin told reports at a press briefing Wednesday.
The whereabouts of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani were discovered Wednesday after Ghani posted video messages from the United Arab Emirates. Ghani said left Afghanistan Sunday to avoid “bloodshed” as the Taliban closed in on Kabul.
The updates for this blog have ended.
KEY MOMENTS
Former Afghan President welcomed in United Arab Emirates Defense Secretary Austin outlines his three main concerns for U. S. operations in Kabul Afghanistan’s first female mayor is “terrified” about the country’s future U. S. government cannot guarantee safe passage to Kabul airport, embassy says
First, he aims to ensure the safety and security of Americans “and the people that we’re trying to evacuate.”
He said there are currently 4,500 U.S. troops on the ground who are ready to “defend themselves and their operations.”
Austin noted that there have been “no hostile interactions with the Taliban” and the U.S. maintains “open” lines of communication with the Taliban.
Austin’s second concern is to maintain security at Hamid Karazi International Airport.
“Our troops have set up defensive positions around the airport and the airport is able to function safely,” he said.
He noted that he is in daily contact with General Mckenzie and commanders on the ground “to make sure that they have what they need to keep it safe.”
The final focus is on “the pace” of evacuations. Austin said he aims to increase the flow of aircraft and people out of Kabul.
“We’ve flown out several thousand since 15th of August and our goal is to be able to increase our capacity every day going forward.”
Austin added that he is working with the State Department on evacuation efforts.
“We’ve dispatched small military teams to two of the airport’s gates to assist the State Department consular efforts as they evaluate and process individuals seeking entry. And we expect to be able to augment that capability in the coming days,” he said.
Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Steve Chabot (R-OH), co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Freedom of the Press Caucus, demanded the U.S. provide safe passage for Afghan press who face a risk of death or violence under Taliban rule.
“Journalists and media support staff who assisted media organizations are in imminent danger as Afghanistan continues to deteriorate,” Schiff and Chabot wrote.
“These courageous individuals should receive safe passage to Hamid Karzai International Airport, and be transported to safety outside of the country if they request it.”
According to a readout from the White House, the two leaders “praised the ongoing efforts of their military and civilian personnel who are working closely together in Kabul on the evacuation of their citizens, vulnerable Afghans, and the courageous Afghan nationals who worked tirelessly over the last 20 years to provide security, promote peace, and deliver development assistance to the Afghan people.”
They also discussed the need for “close coordination” of humanitarian aid for Afghans and “agreed to continue planning for this work in the upcoming virtual meeting of G7 partners.”
“THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENSURE SAFE PASSAGE TO THE HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,” the embassy said in its latest security alert.
The alert also said that flight will now be available “on a first come, first serve basis” and people may have to wait in the airport “for a significant amount of time until space is available.”
“We do not know what the Taliban are going to impose, but we know that the situation is going to get worse,” Azra Jafari told Newsweek. “It is total chaos. We are not sure what is happening.”
Jafari is also a member of the Hazara ethnic group, a religious and ethnic minority in Afghanistan with a long history of discrimination in the country.
“I worked as a mayor from 2008 to 2014. I saw changes, I saw energy and capacity for better life, and I saw hopes for a better future. But now it seems like all the progress is going backwards,” Jafari said.
After 20 years of hard-fought advancements, Jafari fears that, under the Taliban, “women will be completely shut away from society.”
READ MORE: “Afghanistan’s First Female Mayor ‘Terrified’ of What’s to Come With the Taliban”
Ghani said he left Afghanistan in order to avoid bloodshed.
“I didn’t want the bloodshed to commence in Kabul like it had in Syria and Yemen. So I decided to go, to leave Kabul,” he said. “If I had stayed the President of Afghanistan, people would have been hanged and this would have been a dreadful disaster in our history.”
He said his aim is to prevent violence and ensure peace for the Afghan people.
“My commitment to all my countrymen and women was to avoid bloodshed and to ensure peace, stability and development for Afghanistan, that was my overall objective,” Ghani said in a video message shared on his Facebook page.
Ghani also said that before he left Afghanistan, he was working with the Taliban to ensure a peaceful transition of power.
“Before I left the country, I was working with the Taliban to ascertain a delegation to have negotiations to set the conditions for a peaceful transition of power, to keep Kabul safe,” Ghani said.
Applications from Afghans for asylum climbed roughly 30 percent since February when the United States announced it would be pulling troops out of Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported.
According to the EU’s asylum office, over 4,648 applications were submitted in May; about half tend to be successful.
“It’s important that we can help these people in Afghanistan, when possible, to return to their homes,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said. “We also need to help neighboring countries and support Afghanis and these neighboring countries in the region.”
READ MORE: “Afghans Make Up Second-Largest Group Applying for Asylum in EU Since 2015”
“Utah was settled by refugees fleeing religious persecution,” Cox said in a tweet. “We understand the pain caused by forced migration and appreciate the contributions of refugees in our communities.”
Kirby said the U.S. is still working towards its goal of getting 5,000 to 9,000 people out a day.
There are now about 4,500 U.S. troops on the ground in Kabul to secure the airport and help the airlift efforts.
Kirby said the U.S. military is talking regularly with the Taliban to help get Afghans into the airport and improve the paperwork process, including for Afghans who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas.
“I have convened an extraordinary virtual meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers this Friday 20 August to continue our close coordination & discuss our common approach on Afghanistan,” Stoltenberg said in a tweet.
Stoltenberg told CNN Wednesday that it is important for the allied nations to approach Afghanistan with a united front.
“It is in our national security interest to work together, especially in light of shifting global balance of power with the likes of China and more assertive Russia,” he said.
“No shots were fired by American troops at Afghans or anybody else,” Kirby told reporters Wednesday. “None of these shots that we’re aware of had anything to do with hostile intent or hostile activity, simply used as crowd control.”
He said the troops were “doing what they’re trained to do,” which is to secure the airport and maintain order.
Kirby added that “we have no indication that there were any casualties or injuries as a result of these shots being fired.”
Video circulated online of several Afghans clinging to the side of the plane as it took off and bodies falling off the aircraft when it was in the air.
“Clearly we know just by visual evidence and by the Air Force’s statement that there were at least several fatalities involved in that, but I don’t want to get ahead of the Air Force’s review in terms of hard numbers of what the total toll was,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said.
The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday that its Office of Special Investigations is investigating the incident.
“The Department recently approved a request for assistance from the State Department to provide additional temporary housing, sustainment and support inside the United States for a number of up to 22,000,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said.
The U.S. will also continue to use Fort Lee.
So far, 2,000 Afghan SIV applicants and their families have been relocated to the U.S., with tens of thousands more expected.
In a Twitter thread, Ajmal Ahmady, Economic Advisor to the Afghanistan president, said that a majority of those funds are being held in U.S. Federal Reserve bonds, assets and gold.
“The amount of such cash remaining is close to zero due a stoppage of shipments as the security situation deteriorated, especially during the last few days,” Ahmady tweeted.
The next shipment of cash was not delivered, likely because Afghanistan’s partners “had good intelligence as to what was going to happen,” Ahmady said.
Ahmady said the international sanctions will cause the Taliban to struggle to gain access to the country’s reserves.
He added that the “Taliban won militarily — but now have to govern,” and the group will not have an easy time doing so.
READ MORE: “Afghanistan Low on Physical Cash After Taliban Takeover as Reserves Held Outside Nation”
“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Ghani fled Afghanistan Sunday as the Taliban closed in on Kabul.
“We’re extremely concerned by the large displacement of people and increasing cases of diarrhea, malnutrition, high blood pressure, probable cases of COVID-19 and reproductive health complications,” he said.
He added that there is an “immediate need to ensure sustained humanitarian access and continuity of health services across the country,” especially focusing on the health and wellbeing of women and girls.
“We’re particularly concerned about the health and wellbeing of women and girls,” Dr. Tedros said. “I call on the international community and all actors to prioritize their access to all health services and to safeguard their futures.”
“We cannot backslide on two decades of progress,” he added.
Dr. Tedros said WHO sent trauma kits and other medical supplies to remaining WHO staff in Afghanistan “to help health workers responding to the increases in injuries they’re seeing.”
“It’s bumper to bumper, cars are barely moving. There are Taliban fighters all around. We actually did see them physically trying to get people back. We have seen them and heard them a lot as well firing on the crowds to disperse the crowds,” Ward reported, about 200 yards from the airport entrance.
From what she can see, the Taliban are not targeting specific people to kill in the crowd, but “the minute you’re firing willy-nilly when you have a bunch of civilians all over the road and civilian vehicles, people get hurt,” Ward said.
In addition to the threat of violence from the Taliban, Ward said the disorder is making it “impossible” for ordinary civilians to navigate the evacuation system at the airport, even if they have the proper paperwork.
“It’s very dicey, it’s very dangerous, and it’s completely unpredictable. There’s no order. There’s no coherent system for processing people…it’s a miracle that more people have not been seriously hurt,” she said.
“We call on those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to guarantee their protection,” Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal, Switzerland and the United States of America said in the joint statement.
“Afghan women and girls, as all Afghan people, deserve to live in safety, security and dignity,” the statement said. “Any form of discrimination and abuse should be prevented. We in the international community stand ready to assist them with humanitarian aid and support, to ensure that their voices can be heard.”
The statement said these nations will closely monitor how the future government in Afghanistan ensures rights and freedoms “that have become an integral part of the life of women and girls in Afghanistan during the last twenty years.”
“If we are going to recognize a government, we will have to wait till the government is formed,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing Wednesday.
“Only after that, will we come to the question of diplomatic recognition,” Zhao said.
Zhao also reiterated Beijing’s hope for a “smooth transition” to avoid further violence.
“China will continue to support the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan and provide assistance to Afghanistan’s economic and social development within its capacity,” Zhao said.
Since Saturday, over 400 Afghan nationals have entered Pakistan, though he added that “no refugees have entered Pakistan yet” and that the country has not had to make any “arrangements for refugees” so far.
Videos posted online show panicked crowds running for cover as Taliban fighters open fire. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone had been killed or injured.
Former spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior Affairs, Najeeb Nangyal, tweeted that casualties had been reported.
READ MORE: Taliban Reportedly Fires Into Crowd Of Protesters Waving Afghanistan Flag
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Pence said labelled the situation a “foreign-policy humiliation unlike anything our country has endured since the Iran hostage crisis”.
“I said that we must speak with them and some people found that scandalous,” he told a Spanish radio station earlier. “But how are we supposed to open a safe passage to the airport if we are not speaking with those who have taken control of Kabul?”
Reports from military officials suggest the Taliban has been allowing safe passage for those who want to leave.
Some countries are only taking a small number, with flights leaving Kabul with just a few dozen people on them, while hundreds are packed into U.S. and U.K. aircraft.
But Johnson has come under fire for accepting only 5,000 of the total 20,000 this year, with critics suggesting more should be done to help those.
One MP in the House of Commons asked the PM: “What are the other 15,000 meant to do? Hang around and wait until they’ve been executed?”
A Royal Australian Air Force C130 flight landed in Dubai with a mix of Australian citizens, Afghan nationals, and an official working for an international agency.
The statue depicted Abdul Ali Mazari - a champion of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazara minority who were persecuted under the Sunni Taliban’s earlier rule.
The statue stood in the central Bamyan province, where the Taliban infamously blew up two massive 1,500-year-old statues of Buddha carved into a mountain in 2001.
He said his team was “not getting reports of them behaving in a sort of medieval way like we might have seen in the past” and urged people to “listen to what they are saying at the moment”, stating that he believes “they have changed”.
The American operation at the facility is expected to pick up today, alongside other Western countries, to evacuate Afghans looking to flee the Taliban.
Jake Sullivan on Tuesday acknowledged reports that some civilians were encountering resistance — “being turned away or pushed back or even beaten” — as they tried to reach airport. But he said “very large numbers” were reaching the airport and the problem of the others was being taken up with the Taliban.
Thousands of fleeing Afghans are climbing aboard flights from Australia, Germany, the U.K. and others as intense debate gets underway about how the withdrawal of troops was handled by President Biden.
Follow Newsweek’s liveblog throughout Wednesday for all the latest…
