In Kabul, a fearful wait for US to deliver on evacuation vow

KABUL – Tens of thousands of radical successful Afghanistan waited nervously connected Saturday to spot whether the United States would present connected President Joe Biden’s caller pledge to evacuate each Americans and each Afghans who aided the warfare effort, arsenic U.S. helicopters plucked radical from locations beyond the teeming, chaotic Kabul airdrome and its Taliban checkpoints.

Time is moving retired up of Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline to retreat astir remaining U.S. troops, and the president connected Friday nighttime did not perpetrate to extending it. He faces increasing disapproval arsenic videos picture pandemonium and occasional unit extracurricular the airport, and arsenic susceptible Afghans who fearfulness the Taliban's retaliation nonstop hopeless pleas not to beryllium near behind.

The Gulf federation of Bahrain connected Saturday announced it was allowing flights to usage its transit facilities for the evacuation, an enactment that should easiness unit aft the U.S. faced issues Friday with its facilities astatine Al-Udeid Air Base successful Qatar rapidly filling up. The backlog forced flights from the Kabul planetary airdrome to halt for respective hours.

Ad

The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said Saturday it would big up to 5,000 Afghans “prior to their departure to different countries.”

Tens of thousands of Afghan translators and others, and their adjacent household members, question evacuation aft the Taliban’s shockingly swift takeover of Afghanistan successful a small implicit a week’s time. The autumn of Kabul marked the last section of America’s longest war, which began aft the Sept. 11, 2001, panic attacks.

On Friday, a defence authoritative said astir 5,700 people, including astir 250 Americans, were flown retired of Kabul aboard 16 C-17 transport planes, guarded by a impermanent U.S. subject deployment that’s gathering to 6,000 troops. On each of the erstwhile 2 days, astir 2,000 radical were airlifted.

Officials besides confirmed that U.S. subject helicopters flew beyond the Kabul airdrome to scoop up 169 Americans seeking to evacuate. No 1 knows however galore U.S. citizens stay successful Afghanistan, but estimates person ranged arsenic precocious arsenic 15,000.

Ad

So far, 13 countries person agreed to big at-risk Afghans astatine slightest temporarily, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Another 12 person agreed to service arsenic transit points for evacuees, including Americans and others.

___

Faiez reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell successful Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

___

Afghanistan coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.