As August 31 approaches, when the United States claimed it had left Afghanistan, evacuation operations are intensifying at Kabul airport, more than a week after the city was taken over by the Taliban. About 11,000 people were evacuated in twelve hours, Monday, August 23, announced the White House. In total, some 53,000 people have left the country since July, according to a US official.
The United States, which controls the airport, did not rule out, Monday, continuing the evacuations beyond the deadline if necessary, warned Joe Biden. But these statements prompted a firm response from the Taliban, a spokesperson for whom called any extension a “red line” and warned of ” consequences “. The continuation of evacuation operations after August 31 is now considered ” unlikely ” by the British government, which urged its American ally to extend its presence on Afghan soil. A virtual G7 summit, chaired by the United Kingdom, is to meet on Tuesday, to take stock of the evacuations and consider sanctions.
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48,000 people have been evacuated since August 14
In total, around 53,000 people have been transferred from Afghanistan since July, including 48,000 since August 14, the day before Kabul was taken by the Taliban, a White House official said on Monday. In twelve hours Monday, 15 US military planes and 34 civilian planes from various countries took off from Kabul airport, the official said. Of the 10,900 people evacuated during this period, 6,660 were evacuated by military flights, he said.
Regarding the evacuations that took place earlier, the Pentagon, through its spokesperson John Kirby, had indicated that it was “A few thousand” American nationals, as well as thousands of Afghans who cooperated with the United States, who had applied for or received an immigration visa, as well as Afghans fearing retaliation from the Taliban for working for NGOs, media and other jobs frowned upon by Islamists.
He stressed that the goal remains to withdraw all US forces from Kabul by August 31, despite objections from NATO allies, who fear the airlift will be suspended days before August 31 to allow evacuation. of the 5,800 American troops deployed at the airport for the operation.
The British consider an extension of the American presence “unlikely”
Great Britain, which has constantly urged its American ally to extend its presence in Afghanistan to continue the evacuations, no longer seems to believe in this hypothesis. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said on Tuesday morning that such an extension was “Unlikely, not just because of what the Taliban said, but I think it’s unlikely if you look at President Biden’s public statements”.
“The goal is to get as many people as possible to leave as quickly as possible”John Kirby insisted on Monday. “The goal is to try to do everything we can by the end of the month. “
If the United States follows its goal of total withdrawal on August 31, France will stop its evacuation operations on Thursday. ” For [le pont aérien français, entre Kaboul et Paris], in terms of “back-planning”, this means that our operation ends on Thursday evening. So we have three days left ”, explained Nicolas Roche, director of the cabinet of the French foreign minister, to the prime minister, Jean Castex, in the presence of journalists.
A virtual G7 to agree on a “common approach”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spoke with United States President Joe Biden on Monday, warned in a statement that the Taliban would be “Judged by their actions”. At Tuesday’s G7 summit – which will bring together the leaders of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom – Mr Johnson intends to call on the leaders of the great powers to strengthen their “Support for refugees and humanitarian aid”.
“With our partners and allies, we will continue to use all humanitarian and diplomatic levers to safeguard human rights and protect the gains of the last two decades” in Afghanistan, assured the tenant of 10 Downing Street. ” [Si la] first priority [reste l’évacuation de Britanniques et d’Afghans ayant aidé les forces occidentales,] it is essential that we come together as an international community [pour] agree on a common long-term approach ”, Mr Johnson said again. NATO and UN Secretaries General were also invited to this G7 session.
On Tuesday, during a special meeting of the Human Rights Council on Afghanistan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet insisted on the attention to be paid to the treatment of women by the Taliban. “A fundamental red line will be how the Taliban treat women and girls and respect their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, education, self-expression and employment, in accordance with standards international human rights law ”, she clarified.
