The evacuations from Afghanistan are a race against time.
Biden warns of the dangers of the mission.
In the morning there was a firefight and a person died.
The US government is discussing a possible extension of the evacuation measures in Afghanistan with the military
(see initial report).
On Monday morning there was a firefight at the airport in Kabul
(see update from August 23, 6.54 a.m.).
US President Joe Biden * warns of the danger of terrorist attacks by the terrorist militia Islamic State.
This news ticker on the situation around Afghanistan * is continuously updated.
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.