The evacuations from Afghanistan are a race against time.
In the morning there was a firefight.
Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to think about personal conclusions.
On Monday morning there was a firefight at the airport in Kabul
(see update from August 23, 6.54 a.m.).
Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks about her responsibility during the operation and the terrorist threat
(see update from August 23, 11:18 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.).
The Taliban warn of the "consequences" of a delayed US withdrawal
(see update from August 23, 1:25 p.m.).
This news ticker on the situation around Afghanistan * is continuously updated.
Update from August 23, 1:25 p.m.:
The Taliban have threatened "consequences" in the event of a delayed withdrawal of the US and its allies from Afghanistan.
“If the United States or Britain is asking for more time to continue evacuations, the answer is no.
Or there will be consequences, "said Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on Monday the British television channel Sky News.
The US wants to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by August 31, but in view of the chaotic conditions at Kabul airport, the evacuation of all those in need of protection by then is considered unrealistic.
Afghanistan: Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks of a tense situation in Kabul - increasing terror threats
Update from August 23, 12.20 p.m.:
After the firefight at the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul
(see update from August 23, 6.54 a.m.)
at least six injured people with gunshot wounds came to the hospital. The NGO Emergency announced on Monday on Twitter, which operates a hospital in Kabul. But none of the people shot were in mortal danger. Since Saturday morning, 14 seriously injured people have been admitted to the hospital, and 26 others have received emergency medical treatment.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer described the situation in Kabul as very tense and confirmed that there were increasing terror threats. "We have an unbelievable number of refugees in the city, we have a deteriorated supply situation, we are also increasingly facing threats from other terrorist groups," she told
Bild
-
TV (see update from August 23, 11:18 a.m.)
. She did not give any further details.
But she said that at the moment it was almost no longer possible for those seeking protection to get to the airport.
“That's why we have to go much more closely to picking up people, so to speak.
We do that. ”Kramp-Karrenbauer confirmed the secret operation of the KSK, about which
Bild had
reported
(see update from August 23, 10:35 am)
, although not directly, but did not deny it
after
repeated inquiries.
Afghanistan: Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to "turn his head" if necessary
Update from August 23, 11:18 a.m.:
The deployment of the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan is dangerous, emphasized Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) from the start.
“Whatever happens on site: I turn my head,” she said on TV channel
Bild Live
.
She went on to speak of a "dangerous military mission" in which it was clear that, as the holder of the authority, she had to be "at the front of the ship".
"When this mission is over, I will consider very carefully for myself what responsibility I have borne, what responsibility I have met, and where maybe not, and what conclusions I have to personally draw from it."
+
US Marines accompanied families on an evacuation flight on Saturday.
© Sgt.Samuel Ruiz / US Marine / Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire / dpa
Afghanistan: KSK saves Munich family
Update from August 23, 10:35 a.m.:
In addition to a lot of terrible news, there is also good news from Afghanistan: As the
picture
reports, a team from the Special Forces Command (KSK) was able to save a family from Munich.
Image
learned from security circles
according to which the forces left the airport premises in Kabul on Sunday night to save the family (a high school graduate, her brother and her mother).
The Bundeswehr soldiers brought them safely to the airport.
While visiting their grandmother in Kabul, the family was surprised by the rapid advance of the Taliban.
So you couldn't get to the airport on your own.
Taliban stopped the family with a gun in hand.
“When we turned around, the Taliban really started shooting in the air again.
People panicked, it was terrible, ”says the high school graduate.
The family has now been flown to Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan: how long will the evacuations continue?
Update from August 23, 9:20 a.m.:
How long will the West stay in Afghanistan? This question is currently being hotly debated. The US is apparently pushing the pace.
Business Insider
reports on a NATO-internal schedule from Sunday available to the editors. Accordingly, the last evacuation flight should leave Kabul next Saturday (August 28). According to the report, corresponding information was also confirmed by a high-ranking German diplomat. So far there is a date of August 31st in the room. At the same time, US President Joe Biden spoke publicly on Sunday and spoke about discussions about a possible extension
(see initial report)
. So the situation still seems unclear.
According to
Business Insider
, the security situation on site has worsened significantly in the past 72 hours.
The US is also expecting attacks.
In the current schedule, August 31 is the definitive end of the evacuation operation, but it is expected that the “extraction” of Afghans and NATO members will end on August 28.
A high-ranking German diplomat confirmed to
Business Insider:
"If the Americans don't extend, and it doesn't look like that at the moment, the last flight will be on August 27th or 28th."
Bundeswehr in Afghanistan: Helicopters cannot be used for the time being
Update from August 23, 9 a.m .:
According to information from
Focus Online
, the two helicopters sent by the Bundeswehr to Kabul cannot be used for the time being *. The fact that the machines exist and what should be done with was spread via social media - and thus also known to the Taliban. This is what it says in the Bundeswehr operations command near Potsdam. The risk situation for the soldiers is therefore too high. Further evacuations should take place with the helicopters.
Continuous fire could cause the helicopter to crash during take-off or landing, said
a high-ranking Bundeswehr officer familiar with the evacuation plans
, according to
Focus Online
.
"It was fatal to let the Bundeswehr film the loading of the transport machines themselves," said the officer from the operational command.
The Taliban would evaluate every message.
The SPD also criticized talk show statements by a CDU politician about the use * at the weekend.
Afghanistan: Gun battle at the airport in Kabul
Update from August 23, 6.54 a.m.:
According to the Bundeswehr, there was a firefight between Afghan security forces and unknown attackers on Monday morning at Kabul airport.
An Afghan security force was killed and three others injured, the Bundeswehr reported on Twitter.
In the further course of the battle, US and German soldiers were also involved.
All soldiers in the Bundeswehr are uninjured.
Biden discusses extending the evacuations in Kabul - and expresses concerns
First report from August 23:
Kabul - August 31 is approaching - an important date to date for the mission and evacuation measures in Afghanistan. Because the USA actually wants to end it on this day. But now, according to President Joe Biden, the US government is in talks with the military about a possible extension of the evacuation mission from Afghanistan beyond the end of the month. "There are discussions between us and the military about an extension," he said on Sunday (local time) in the White House *. "We hope that we don't have to extend it."
A week after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, Biden again promised to bring home any American willing to leave.
The US government is also trying to get Afghan supporters of the operation, other vulnerable Afghans and citizens of partner countries out of the country.
Afghanistan: Will US troops stay in Kabul longer?
"We'll see what we can do"
When asked to this effect, Biden said that if other G7 countries ask for US troops to be present at Kabul airport for a longer period of time, he will reply “that we will see what we can do”. The heads of state and government of seven important industrialized countries will meet on Tuesday for a special online summit on Afghanistan. Desperation continued to prevail at Kabul airport over the weekend. The US broadcaster CNN reports that more than 20,000 asylum seekers stayed in the airport and at the entrances on Sunday. Biden said US troops at the airport had expanded the surrounding security zone. The Taliban were "cooperative" in this.
According to the US President, the evacuations have clearly picked up speed.
Biden said that since the US evacuation mission began on August 14, US forces and their coalition partners have flown a total of nearly 28,000 people out of Kabul.
Around 11,000 people were recently brought to safety via the airlift within 36 hours.
But Biden also raised concerns: "We still have a long way to go, and a lot can still go wrong."
Afghanistan: Risk of an attack by IS
Biden warned of the danger of terrorist attacks by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) at the airport in Kabul. "We know terrorists could try to take advantage of the situation and attack innocent Afghans or American troops," he said. He named the regional offshoot of ISIS as the “probable source” of such an attack. With every day of their presence, US troops and innocent civilians at the airport are exposed to the risk of an attack by the terrorist militia. The Taliban and IS are enemies and have fought each other in the past.
Biden called the scenes at the airport * in Kabul "heartbreaking". But he was unwavering in his conviction that his decision to withdraw all troops was not a mistake. “I think history will record that this was the logical, rational and right decision.” The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul would always have been “hard and painful”, regardless of when it began. Biden's government is accused of having started too late.
The militant Islamist Taliban conquered Kabul on Sunday last week and took power.
Since then, members of the opposition, journalists, human rights activists and local staff who worked for Western countries have feared acts of revenge.
Many citizens fear that the extremists want to establish an Islamic “emirate”, as they did 25 years ago, and that they are using draconian punishments against those who think differently.
Merkel takes part in crisis team consultations
According to dpa information, Chancellor Angela Merkel * (CDU) was brought to the Chancellery by helicopter on Sunday evening after her return from a trip to Ukraine in order to take part in crisis team consultations on the situation in Afghanistan.
The G7 countries want to coordinate their actions in Afghanistan at a special summit on Tuesday, including the evacuations.
A continuation of the evacuation operation without the USA is excluded.
The British government, but also German politicians, are campaigning for the rescue mission to be extended beyond the end of the month.
For example, the Greens foreign politician Omid Nouripour demanded in the
world
that the federal government must work in Washington to ensure "that the US troops secure the evacuation flights beyond August as much as possible".
(dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Sgt.Samuel Ruiz / US Marine / Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire / dpa