The Taliban are "
ready to protect
" access to Kabul airport for civilians evacuated by the Americans, assured President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.
Read also: Afghanistan: Europe facing the specter of a new migration crisis
Thousands of Americans living in Afghanistan and Afghans who helped the West want to leave the country for fear of Taliban retaliation, but they are still stranded outside the airport in areas controlled by the insurgents.
The insurgents told the United States "that
they were ready to protect the safe passage of civilians to the airport and we intend to make them respect this commitment
", he assured during the meeting. 'a press conference at the White House.
Soon 5,000 to 9,000 departures per day
The adviser, however, gave information according to which people had been "
turned back, pushed back or even beaten
" on their way to the airport.
"
We are taking it up through a channel with the Taliban to try to resolve these issues
."
"
But overall, we found that people were able to arrive at the airport,
" he said, acknowledging, however, that "
the situation was changing from hour to hour.
"
However, in Berlin, the head of German diplomacy deplored the obstacles of the Taliban against the Afghans who were candidates for departure.
“
The Taliban have set up checkpoints all over the city and are controlling the entire area and surrounding area of the airport,
” said Heiko Maas.
The only people allowed to enter the airport are "
foreigners, but no local worker or Afghan citizen
" has access.
We had no hostile interactions, attacks or threats from the Taliban.
An American military official
Washington, which has established a line of communication between the US military securing the tarmac and the Taliban controlling the Afghan capital, is also negotiating with the insurgents on the "
timetable
" for the evacuations, President Biden's adviser said.
"
We think we can do this until August 31,
" Sullivan said.
“
We are discussing the exact timing with them.
"
The United States continued to strengthen its military posture at Kabul airport on Tuesday to speed up the pace of evacuations.
The U.S. military has so far evacuated more than 3,200 people from Afghanistan, including 1,100 people on Tuesday - U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their families, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
The military reinforcements, which must continue in the days to come, will make it possible to "
accelerate
" the evacuations to bring them to one flight per hour "
over the next 24 hours
", specified General Hank Taylor, an official of the American staff to the press.
We had no hostile interactions, attacks or threats from the Taliban.
Hank Taylor, an official of the American staff
"
At the maximum of our capacities, we count on 5000 to 9000 departures per day
", he added, "
but we are aware that a number of factors influence this objective
".
This military official stressed that the operations had not been hampered by the Taliban.
"
We have had no hostile interactions, attacks or threats from the Taliban,
" he said.
He also revealed that Afghan soldiers who did not surrender to the Taliban managed to reach Kabul airport and were participating in the evacuation operations.
“
We have 500 to 600 Afghan forces helping us provide security,
” he said.