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Chaos in Kabul: Biden does not rule out extending US presence

2021-08-23T06:46:42.034Z


The chaos caused by the influx of tens of thousands of desperate Afghans to Kabul airport on Sunday left seven people dead.


Trying to maintain control.

Faced with the chaos of evacuations in Kabul and under pressure from his allies, Joe Biden opened the door to maintaining the soldiers in place beyond the scheduled date of August 31 by referring to "ongoing discussions" on the American side on this subject. .

“There are discussions going on between us and the military about the extension.

We hope not to have to prolong it, but there will be discussions, I suppose, on the state of play of the evacuation process, ”the US president said on Sunday evening, as London announced the holding of Tuesday. a virtual G7 summit “for urgent discussions on Afghanistan”.

To read also "The Taliban would have cut me piece by piece": refugee in Paris, an Afghan officer tells

The chaos caused by the influx of tens of thousands of desperate Afghans to Kabul airport on Sunday left seven people dead.

Since entering Kabul on August 15, the Islamists have tried to convince the population that they have changed, claiming that their policies will be less brutal than when they were in charge of the country from 1996 to 2001. But that does not stop the flood of those who do not believe in their promises and want to leave.

“America, with all its power and its equipment (…), has failed to bring order to the airport.

There is peace and calm in the whole country, but there is only chaos at Kabul airport (…) It must end as soon as possible ”, accused a senior Taliban official, Amir Khan on Sunday. Mutaqi.

"Take us with you, please take us with you"

A journalist, one of a group of press workers and academics who were fortunate enough to gain access to the airport on Sunday, described scenes of completely desperate Afghans clinging to their bus as they entered it.

"They showed us their passports and shouted:

Take us with you, please take us with you,

" the journalist told AFP.

Still hoping for a miracle, families remain massed between the barbed wire that surrounds the perimeter separating the Taliban from the American troops, and access to the airport remains very difficult.

VIDEO.

Afghanistan: images of the ambient chaos near the Kabul airport

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country chairs the G7, deemed "vital that the international community work together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and help the Afghan people protect the progress (made) in the twenty last years ".

The day before, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell had judged "impossible" to evacuate all the Afghan collaborators of the Western powers before August 31, not excluding, however, that the Americans could "change their mind" and stay away. beyond this date.

Several human rights organizations have also called on Joe Biden to extend the deadline for the US withdrawal.

More than 30,000 people evacuated

Some 30,300 people have been evacuated since August 14, the White House said Sunday, as Washington hopes to exfiltrate up to 15,000 Americans but also 50,000 to 60,000 Afghans and their families.

Thousands of foreigners of other nationalities but also Afghans threatened or having worked for the allies are also awaiting evacuation by the Western powers.

Washington requisitioned the planes of several private airlines to help with the evacuation.

These planes will not take off from Kabul airport but will help transport people who have been evacuated to third countries, such as Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Poutine called for preventing an influx of refugees from Afghanistan among whom, according to him, “disguised fighters” could be hiding. “But who can be (hidden) among these refugees, how can we know? He said, estimating that "hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands or maybe millions" of people might want to flee the country.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2021-08-23

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