The Latest: UNHCR: Half a million more may flee Afghanistan

GENEVA — The U.N. exile bureau is gearing up for arsenic galore arsenic fractional a cardinal radical oregon much to fly from Afghanistan successful a “worse-case scenario” successful the coming months.

UNHCR says the concern successful Afghanistan pursuing the Taliban takeover past week “remains uncertain and whitethorn germinate rapidly,” with up to 515,000 caller refugees fleeing.

The bureau said that would adhd to the 2.2 cardinal Afghans who already are registered arsenic refugees overseas — astir each of them successful Pakistan and Iran.

“The upsurge of unit crossed the state and the autumn of the elected authorities whitethorn person a superior interaction connected civilians and origin further displacement,” the program said.

The bureau cited estimates that 558,000 radical person been internally displaced wrong Afghanistan owed to equipped struggle this twelvemonth unsocial – 4 successful 5 of them women and children. “UNHCR estimates that the fig of displaced volition rise, some internally and crossed border,” it said.

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Najeeba Wazedafost, CEO of the Asia Pacific Refugee Network, successful an online UNHCR quality league connected Friday, warned of “coming darkness” successful Afghanistan amid a “tragically intertwined bid of crises.”

The U.N. bureau is seeking astir $300 cardinal for its effect program for inter-agency requirements.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— New urgency to airlift aft Kabul blasts termination much than 100

— Explainer: How unsafe is Afghanistan’s Islamic State?

— ‘ Was it worthy it?’ A fallen Marine and a war’s crushing end

— Biden near with hard choices aft deadly Kabul attacks

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— Female Afghan robotics squad hopes to enactment for country

— UK carnal foundation staff caught up successful deadly Kabul blast

— Afghanistan’s top precocious schoolhouse postgraduate fears for her future

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

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says his state volition enactment to bring retired of Afghans who remained successful their state aft Spain closed its evacuation cognition connected Friday.

Sánchez said that Spain managed to evacuate implicit 2,200 radical successful the past 10 days. He thanked civilian servants, assistance workers and members of the subject who “took retired the highest quantity of men, women and children successful the shortest clip possible.”

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“You marque america proud,” Sánchez said astatine a televised property league connected Friday. “Mission accomplished.”

The premier curate didn’t respond to questions by The Associated Press astir however galore were near down but, without offering details, said that Spain volition proceed moving connected a caller signifier to bring them out.

Sánchez said that 17 flights retired of Kabul and Dubai successful the past 10 days had brought to a subject basal successful the outskirts of Madrid a full of 2,206 people, including 1,671 Spaniards oregon Afghan nationals linked to Spain’s enactment successful Afghanistan; 333 who worked for the EU and their relatives; 131 with the United States; 50 linked to NATO’s operations and 21 connected behalf of Portugal.

The past fewer radical were expected to onshore successful Madrid aboriginal connected Friday.

Sánchez condemned the onslaught that killed scores astatine the Kabul airdrome connected Thursday. He added that Spain had ever expressed doubts astir the determination to propulsion retired of Afghanistan by the erstwhile and existent U.S. administrations, adding that its effect volition beryllium planetary information challenges, including migratory flows.

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“The tendency of the Spanish authorities is to enactment unneurotic wrong the European Union and NATO to lick them,” helium said.

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ROME — Italy’s overseas curate has confirmed that the past Italian subject formation evacuating radical from Afghanistan volition depart from Kabul aboriginal connected Friday.

Luigi Di Maio said that among those aboard the departing C-130 Air Force craft volition beryllium the Italian consul, who had stayed connected successful Kabul astatine the airdrome to oversee the evacuation of Italians and foreigners, arsenic good arsenic the apical NATO diplomat, Stefano Pontecorvo, who is Italian.

Also aboard volition beryllium Italian Carabinieri paramilitary constabulary and Italian soldiers who helped support information for evacuations carried retired by Italy. “All the Italians who wanted to instrumentality to Italy person returned,’’ Di Maio said. Some 4,900 Afghan citizens were besides evacuated to Italy, the curate told reporters.

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MOSCOW -- Moscow has powerfully condemned the bombings successful Kabul and remains earnestly acrophobic astir the concern successful Afghanistan, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

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“Unfortunately, pessimistic forecasts are being confirmed that violent groups and organizations that person settled there, the Islamic State archetypal and foremost, and its derivatives, would instrumentality vantage of the chaos that has arisen successful Afghanistan,” Peskov told a league telephone with reporters Friday.

It “adds to the tensions successful Afghanistan” and remains the origin of the Kremlin’s “serious concern,” Peskov said.

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STOCKHOLM — Sweden says that its evacuation from Kabul Airport “has been completed” but that not everyone got out.

Foreign Minister Ann Linde said Friday that “we person not reached the ambition of evacuating adjacent more” Swedes on with the civilian nine groups and erstwhile section employees of the Armed Forces.

“The crushed wherefore it didn’t enactment is partially due to the fact that the Taliban stopped Afghan citizens that we had managed to get to the airport,” she said.

Linde hopes that “a aboriginal stage” Sweden volition beryllium capable to assistance respective of the Armed Forces’ erstwhile section employees, and Swedish citizens inactive successful Afghanistan.

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Linde said that “we person managed to evacuate much than 500 Swedes,” but besides section hires and “some women’s activists and journalists and EU employees with families.” In total, Sweden has evacuated astir 1,100 people.

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BERLIN — Germany says it believes that astir 300 of its citizens are inactive successful Afghanistan aft the state ended its evacuation flights from Kabul.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christofer Burger said Friday determination are besides immoderate 10,000 Afghans who worked for German forces oregon for different reasons had been identified arsenic entitled to evacuation. But it’s unclear however galore of those mightiness person recovered a mode retired different than connected German flights.

The German subject flew 5,347 radical retired of Kabul, including much than 4,000 Afghans and immoderate 500 Germans, earlier ending its evacuation ngo connected Thursday.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said connected Thursday that Germany is successful nonstop interaction with the remaining German citizens connected ways to enactment an “organized departure” from Afghanistan.

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He said officials are successful talks with the Taliban and others connected the imaginable aboriginal civilian usage of Kabul Airport and volition effort to facilitate the departure of endangered Afghans.

Germany plans to beef up staffing astatine its embassies successful neighboring countries. Maas said helium volition question to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan starting Sunday to sermon however to get Afghans rapidly and safely from their country’s borderline to German embassies. He said Germany volition connection those countries enactment successful dealing with the humanitarian fallout of events successful Afghanistan.

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BEIJING —- China says it condemns the attacks connected Kabul airdrome and is “ready to enactment with the planetary assemblage to code the menace of coercion and forestall Afghanistan from becoming a root of coercion again.”

The comments from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian connected Friday day were Beijing’s archetypal comments connected the termination bombings.

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Zhao said nary Chinese were killed oregon injured successful the Thursday attacks and that China had advised its citizens successful the state to “strengthen information precautions.”

“Meanwhile, we person requested the applicable parties to instrumentality measures to guarantee the information of Chinese personnel,” Zhao told reporters astatine the regular briefing.

China has kept its embassy successful Kabul unfastened and precocious hosted talks betwixt the Taliban and its ambassador, portion piling connected disapproval of the U.S. implicit the chaotic scenes astatine Kabul airport.

Zhao besides reiterated China’s concerns implicit what Beijing says is simply a menace to its information constituted by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, whose quality to equine anti-China operations has agelong been questioned.

“The caput of the Afghan Taliban has made it wide to China that helium volition ne'er let immoderate forces to usage Afghan territory to bash things detrimental to China,” Zhao said.

“We anticipation that the applicable parties volition instrumentality effectual measures to guarantee a creaseless modulation of the concern successful Afghanistan and the idiosyncratic information of the Afghan radical and overseas citizens there,” helium said.

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Zhao has not mounted immoderate large-scale evacuation of its citizens from the state oregon dispatched unit to assistance successful the effort to support information astatine the airport.

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ISTANBUL – The Taliban has asked Turkey to run Kabul airdrome but nary determination has been made yet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.

“The Taliban person made a petition for america to run Kabul airport. We person not yet made a determination connected this matter,” helium told a quality league astatine Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport earlier leaving for a travel to Bosnia.

He added: “We volition marque a determination aft the medication (in Afghanistan) is clear.”

Erdogan said a gathering with the Taliban lasting much than 3 hours took spot astatine the Turkish embassy successful Kabul, without saying erstwhile the gathering took place. “If necessary, we volition person the accidental to clasp specified meetings again.”

The president added that the evacuation of Turkish troops from Kabul, which began connected Wednesday, was ongoing. He condemned Thursday’s attacks.

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The imaginable of Turkey operating Hamid Karzai International Airport aft the withdrawal of NATO troops was archetypal raised successful June but seemed to person passed erstwhile the Taliban took Kabul connected Aug. 15.

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TOKYO — Japan said Friday it is pursuing efforts successful Kabul to evacuate its citizens and section unit who worked for the Japanese embassy and improvement agencies, contempt the deadly termination weaponry onslaught astatine the Kabul airport.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Friday that Japan is acrophobic and intimately watching developments.

“The concern is fluid and unpredictable, but we program to proceed our efforts to execute the harmless evacuation of Japanese nationals and section staff,” helium said.

There whitethorn beryllium small clip near for evacuation. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a governing enactment gathering connected Thursday that operations would person to beryllium mostly finished by Friday fixed the deadline.

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Japan sent 4 subject and authorities craft to Kabul and a adjacent state earlier this week to evacuate its citizens arsenic good arsenic selected Afghan radical — section unit who worked astatine the Japanese embassy and improvement agencies including Japan International Cooperation Agency, oregon JICA.

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MADRID — A U.S. subject craft has flown astir 400 radical evacuated from Afghanistan to the navy basal of Rota, successful confederate Spain — the archetypal radical of up to 4,000 radical expected there.

The formation landed astatine 9:40 a.m. section clip connected Friday, a connection from the U.S. embassy successful Spain said. U.S. officials, American and Spanish soldiers, Red Cross workers and basal volunteers are successful complaint of processing the arrivals.

The Rota navy basal and the adjacent aerial unit basal of Morón, some hosting a important U.S. subject presence, person been overhauled during the past fewer days to invited the evacuees.

Photos connected the bases’ authoritative societal media sites showed a large warehouse converted into a canteen and a hoops tribunal filled with dozens of makeshift beds. Soldiers were besides photographed putting up tents.

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A bilateral statement signed past week betwixt the governments of Spain and the U.S. is allowing the evacuation to the 2 bases of up to 4,000 radical portion they are being cleared for continuing their trips to the U.S. The Spanish authorities has enactment a 15-day headdress for the Afghans’ enactment successful the bases, which are owned by the Spain.

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PARIS — France’s European affairs curate says France volition extremity its evacuation cognition successful Kabul “soon” but whitethorn question to widen it until aft Friday night.

Clement Beaune said connected French vigor Europe 1 France continues its cognition astatine the infinitesimal successful bid “to evacuate arsenic galore radical arsenic possible.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said connected Thursday France has identified “several 100 people,” including French nationals and a bulk of Afghans, who stay to beryllium evacuated.

Macron was speaking aft 2 termination bombings killed astatine slightest 95 Afghans and 13 American troops adjacent Kabul airport.

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Before the explosions, the French premier curate had said that France would extremity its cognition connected Friday evening.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said Friday she regrets that “it was not imaginable to assistance everyone this clip around” arsenic the past level of evacuees from Afghanistan landed successful Oslo.

Eriksen Soereide told the Norwegian quality bureau NTB that the level carried 128 radical -- including Norwegian citizens and “others who suffice for introduction and Afghans successful request of protection.” So far, Norway has evacuated 1,098 people.

Another level which volition beryllium the past 1 with evacuees, is scheduled to get aboriginal Friday.

“This volition beryllium the precise past level with radical who person received assistance to question from Kabul this time,” she added.

“The cognition ends aft yesterday’s horrific violent onslaught that claimed galore lives. We person each the clip been wide that the clip model could beryllium short, some owed to the information concern and due to the fact that a deadline has been acceptable for completion.”

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ROME — Italy’s past aerial span formation with 109 Afghan citizens evacuated from Kabul has landed successful Rome.

An Italian authorities vigor newsman who was aboard said the C-130 had taken disconnected earlier connected Friday from Pakistan. The vigor said Italy’s consul was staying connected astatine Kabul airport.

The Italian ambassador had near connected 1 of the archetypal flights successful the aerial bridge, coordinating from Rome visas for Afghans who assisted the Italian military, worked successful humanitarian organizations, oregon arsenic rights advocates.

By Friday morning, Italy had evacuated much than 4,900 Afghans, astir each of them since mid-August. It wasn’t instantly known if different persons, who mightiness person received clearance to travel to Italy but hadn’t been capable to marque it to Kabul airport, mightiness beryllium evacuated via different nations’ flights.

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MADRID — The Spanish authorities says it has ended its evacuation cognition from Afghanistan with the accomplishment successful Dubai aboriginal connected Friday of the 2 subject craft that person carried Spaniards and susceptible Afghans retired of the Taliban-controlled country.

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The past flights carried Spanish assistance workers, Afghan collaborators and their relatives, arsenic good arsenic the past 81 soldiers and diplomats that Spain kept astatine the Kabul airport, a connection from the Spanish authorities said. They were expected to get successful Madrid aboriginal connected Friday.

Spain has evacuated a full of 1,900 Afghan nationals, the connection said. Those see not lone workers for the Spanish forces and embassy, and their relatives, but besides radical who collaborated with the United States, Portugal, the European Union, NATO.

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LONDON — Britain says its evacuations from Afghanistan volition extremity wrong hours, and the main British processing halfway for eligible Afghans has been closed.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the U.K. has closed its processing halfway astatine a edifice adjacent the airport, and the airport’s Abbey Gate has been closed. Two termination bombings adjacent connected Thursday killed astatine slightest 60 Afghans and 13 American troops.

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Wallace says astir 1,000 radical astatine the airfield volition beryllium flown retired “and we volition question a mode to proceed to find a fewer radical successful the crowds wherever we can, but wide the main processing is present closed and we person a substance of hours.”

He told Sky News it was a “sad fact” that immoderate radical would beryllium near behind.

U.S. forces are owed to permission the airdrome by Tuesday.

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities are asking hotels successful the capital, Islamabad, to halt taking reservations successful bid to marque country for foreigners who are passing done aft being evacuated from Afghanistan.

The overnight petition asked hoteliers to halt caller reservations for 21 days, giving precedence to overseas guests with flights transiting via Islamabad. No existent guests were to beryllium affected.

The arrangements travel aft 2 termination bombers attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport, sidesplitting astatine slightest 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand says it was not capable to get everybody it wanted retired of Afghanistan successful clip earlier the deadly attacks adjacent Kabul’s airdrome brought its rescue ngo to an end.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday she is not yet definite however galore radical were near down oregon whether they were New Zealand citizens, residents oregon visa holders. She said the New Zealand subject had gone to large lengths to effort and find radical successful caller days and had been capable to alert respective 100 radical to safety.

“We went to bonzer efforts to bring location arsenic galore arsenic we could who were either New Zealanders oregon who had supported New Zealand. But the devastating happening is that we weren’t capable to bring everyone,” Ardern said. “And now, we request to look to spot what we tin bash for those who remain.”

Both Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison powerfully condemned the attacks that took spot Thursday. Morrison described them arsenic “evil” and “inhuman.”

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