The Latest: Blinken says under 200 Americans in Afghanistan

3 years ago 269

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken says less than 200 Americans stay successful Afghanistan who privation to permission and the U.S. volition proceed to effort to get them out.

Blinken says the fig of Americans near whitethorn beryllium person to 100. He says the U.S. would enactment with Afghanistan’s neighbors to unafraid their departure either overland oregon by charter formation erstwhile the Kabul airdrome re-opens.

Speaking soon aft the Pentagon announced the completion of the U.S. subject pullout Monday, Blinken said the U.S. Embassy successful Kabul volition stay shuttered and vacant for the foreseeable future.

He says American diplomats who had worked from the now-closed embassy volition beryllium based successful Doha, Qatar.

___

MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— Rockets fired astatine Kabul airport amid US withdrawal deed homes

— Qatar emerges arsenic cardinal player successful Afghanistan aft US pullout

— Afghans killed extracurricular airport were seeking caller lives abroad

— White House: US has capableness to evacuate remaining Americans

— Slain Marine who cradled baby astatine Kabul airdrome loved her job

— Evacuated Afghan activistic dreams of going backmost location 1 day

___

— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. wide who oversaw the last evacuation and withdrawal from Afghanistan says the Taliban was “significantly helpful” successful enabling the airlift of Afghans, Americans and others.

The U.S. subject spent astir of the past 2 decades warring the Taliban, but present are adjusting to the information that the militants person taken power of the country.

Gen. Frank McKenzie is caput of U.S. Central Command. He besides said astatine a Pentagon quality league Monday that helium thinks the Taliban volition person trouble securing Kabul successful the coming days, not slightest due to the fact that of the menace they look from the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate.

McKenzie says Taliban fighters successful caller days person freed IS fighters from prisons, swelling their ranks to an estimated 2,000. In his words, “Now they are going to beryllium capable to reap what they sowed.”

___

UNITED NATIONS — A divided U.N. Security Council is pressing the Taliban to unrecorded up to pledges to fto radical permission Afghanistan aft the U.S. withdraws its forces. But China and Russia person refused to backmost the resolution, which they represent arsenic diverting blasted for the chaos surrounding the U.S. pullout.

French Deputy Ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst, said aft Monday’s ballot that “this deficiency of unity is simply a disappointment for us” and for Afghans. Russia and China abstained from the ballot and did not veto the measure.

France sponsored the solution on with Britain and the U.S. It besides calls for letting humanitarian assistance flow, upholding quality rights and combating terrorism.

The ballot came soon earlier the U.S. moved its past troops retired of Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war.

The solution says that the Security Council “expects that the Taliban volition adhere to” commitments astir letting Afghans and foreigners depart safely.

The Taliban person said they volition let mean question aft assuming power of the Kabul airdrome pursuing the U.S. withdrawal.

___

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says that immoderate Americans who wanted to permission Afghanistan were incapable to marque it to the Kabul airdrome to committee U.S. evacuation flights earlier the implicit evacuation of U.S. forces.

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commandant of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that the U.S. believes it was capable to evacuate the “vast majority” of Americans successful the state who wanted to leave, but that it was alert of immoderate who were couldn’t depart.

McKenzie says that successful the last American flights retired of Afghanistan, “We were not capable to bring immoderate Americans out.” The past American civilians were evacuated astir 12 hours earlier U.S. forces left.

McKenzie says the effort to bring retired Americans volition present autumn connected diplomatic channels.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S. would stay successful Afghanistan until it was capable to get each of its citizens retired of the country. “If there’s American citizens left, we’re going to enactment until we get them each out,” helium told ABC News.

___

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says it remains prepared to airlift much Americans from the Kabul airport, adjacent arsenic the evacuation winds down.

Pentagon property caput John Kirby told reporters Monday “there is inactive time” for remaining Americans to get out. He would not beryllium much circumstantial astir the authorities of the evacuation. He said a full of 5,400 Americans person been airlifted frankincense far.

President Joe Biden has acceptable Tuesday arsenic a deadline for completing the evacuation.

___

DOHA, Qatar — The Taliban person called connected each employees of backstage and authorities universities successful Afghanistan to resume their enactment starting Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the insurgent group's governmental bureau successful Doha, Qatar tweeted a statement, which calls connected some antheral and pistillate employees to instrumentality to work.

The connection says the Ministry of Higher Education calls connected rectors, deans, professors and administrative unit to study to their jobs Tuesday "and resume their administrative and world works including making owed preparations for starting classes.”

___

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s interior curate says his state has not granted exile presumption to a azygous idiosyncratic from Afghanistan since the Taliban took power successful Kabul this month.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Monday that Pakistan is helping to facilitate the evacuation of those foreigners desiring to permission Afghanistan. However, helium said truthful acold determination has not been immoderate influx of foreigners from Afghanistan, arsenic was feared past week pursuing the onslaught astatine the Kabul airport.

Pakistani authorities person repeatedly said they cannot accommodate immoderate caller influx of Afghan refugees.

About 2 cardinal Afghans are already surviving arsenic refugees successful Pakistan, immoderate for much than 40 years reflecting Afghanistan’s decades of violence.

___

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar is successful talks astir providing civilian method assistance to the Taliban astatine Kabul’s planetary airdrome erstwhile the U.S. subject withdrawal is implicit connected Tuesday.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to The Associated Press connected Monday that the state has been taking portion successful negotiations astir the operations of Kabul airdrome with Afghan and planetary parties, chiefly the United States and Turkey.

Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwa al-Khater said successful a connection Qatar’s main precedence is restoring regular operations portion preserving information and information astatine the airdrome facilities.

Qatar has ties with some Washington and the Taliban, which took power implicit astir each of Afghanistan successful past weeks. The tiny Gulf Arab authorities is taking portion successful a gathering of cardinal partners hosted by the United States connected Monday to sermon adjacent steps successful Afghanistan.

___

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A level provided by the authorities of Pakistan has brought medicine and wellness supplies from the World Health Organization to Afghanistan.

WHO said Monday’s shipment was the archetypal of aesculapian supplies to onshore successful Afghanistan since the state came nether power of the Taliban 2 weeks ago.

The plane, which departed from Dubai, landed successful Mazar-e-Sharif, the superior of Balkh province, fell to the Taliban connected Aug. 14, a time earlier Kabul.

WHO said the supplies included trauma kits and exigency wellness kits capable to screen the basal needs of much than 200,000 people, arsenic good arsenic dainty 6,500 trauma patients. It said the supplies volition beryllium delivered to 40 wellness facilities successful 29 provinces crossed Afghanistan.

The level was loaded with supplies by WHO’s logistics squad astatine the International Humanitarian City successful Dubai. WHO said that “a reliable humanitarian aerial span is urgently required.”

“The demanding humanitarian enactment of gathering the needs of tens of millions of susceptible Afghans who stay successful the state is present beginning,” the bureau added.

___

CAIRO — The Islamic State group’s affiliate successful Afghanistan has claimed work for Monday’s rocket onslaught successful Kabul, saying it fired astatine slightest six Katyusha rockets astatine the airdrome successful the Afghan capital.

The rockets stuck a vicinity adjacent to the Kabul airport. The assertion of work was carried by the militant group’s media arm, the Aamaq quality agency. It didn’t supply further details.

The U.S. subject said 5 rockets targeted the airdrome connected Monday greeting and that U.S. forces connected the airfield utilized a antiaircraft strategy to intercept them.

The onslaught did not halt the dependable watercourse of U.S. subject C-17 cargo jets taking disconnected and landing astatine Hamid Karzai International Airport.

It was the latest onslaught by the militants. The Islamic State radical launched a devastating termination bombing Thursday astatine 1 of the airdrome gates that killed astatine slightest 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. work members.

___

WASHINGTON — The U.S. subject says 5 rockets targeted the Kabul airdrome connected Monday greeting and U.S. forces connected the airfield utilized a antiaircraft strategy to intercept them.

Capt. Bill Urban, spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Central Command, said determination were nary U.S. casualties. He said U.S. forces utilized a antiaircraft limb known by the acronym C-RAM — a Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System — successful effect to the attack.

It targeted the rockets successful a whirling hail of ammunition, Urban said. The strategy has a distinct, drill-like dependable that echoed done the metropolis astatine the clip of the attack.

He said the Kabul airfield remains operational arsenic the evacuation continued connected Monday. Other details were not instantly available.

Meanwhile, Ross Wilson, the chargé d’affaires astatine the U.S. Embassy successful Kabul present moving retired of the airport, insisted that evacuations stay ongoing Monday. He dismissed arsenic mendacious claims that American citizens person been turned distant oregon were denied entree to the Kabul airdrome by U.S. Embassy unit oregon American troops.

“This is simply a high-risk operation. Claims that American citizens person been turned distant oregon denied entree to HKIA by Embassy unit oregon US Forces are false,” helium said successful a connection connected Twitter, utilizing the acronym for the Kabul airport. He did not elaborate.

___

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul said connected Monday that his country’s nationalist bearer is mounting up an airlift for aesculapian supplies from the World Health Organization to Afghanistan’s bluish metropolis of Mazar-e-Sharif.

The diplomat, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, announced connected Twitter that the state-run Pakistan International Airlines volition service arsenic a humanitarian aerial span for indispensable supplies to Afghanistan, successful coordination with planetary agencies.

He thanked PIA, arsenic the bearer is known, for the supplies. It wasn’t instantly cleat erstwhile the airlift would begin.

The latest improvement comes days aft WHO sought Pakistan’s assistance successful airlifting aesculapian supplies to Afghanistan pursuing past week’s deadly onslaught connected the Kabul airport.

Mazar-e-Sharif, the superior of Balkh province, fell to the Taliban connected Aug. 14, a time earlier Kabul.

Later connected Monday, Pakistan’s state-run quality bureau said the PIA level landed successful Mazar-e-Sharif aft taking of from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

___

TIRANA, Albania — Another level carrying 150 Afghans who fled their homeland fearing the Taliban takeover arrived successful Albania aboriginal connected Monday, the Foreign Ministry said.

The caller arrivals brought the full fig of Afghans brought to this Balkan state to 607. A ministry connection said the level had travel from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Albania has accommodated astir of the Afghans successful hotels and immoderate of them temporarily astatine the students’ field successful the superior of Tirana.

The authorities has said it whitethorn location up to 4,000 Afghans for astatine slightest a twelvemonth earlier they determination to the United States for last settlement.

___

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s subject says suspected militants fired crossed the borderline from Afghanistan astatine a subject station successful northwestern Pakistan, sidesplitting 2 soldiers.

The subject says the cross-border onslaught took spot connected Sunday, successful the territory of Bajur successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It said Pakistani troops returned occurrence “in a befitting manner,” sidesplitting immoderate attackers and wounding others.

The subject said Pakistan powerfully condemns the usage of Afghan ungraded by “terrorists for activities against Pakistan" and expects the existent and aboriginal authorities successful Afghanistan not to let specified activities.

No 1 instantly claimed work for the onslaught and the Pakistani subject provided nary further details. Pakistan and Afghanistan person agelong accused 1 different of harboring militants warring against the other's government.

The 2 stock an internationally recognized borderline known arsenic the Durand Line, which was drawn successful the 19th period erstwhile the British dominated South Asia. Kabul has ne'er recognized the boundary.

Read Entire Article