According to Germany’s top military commander, he estimates that around 5,000 people are waiting at Kabul Airport for their flight out.
Monday’s figure was down from 7,000 over the weekend, according to Gen. Eberhard Zorn. He said, “We are now working internationally to reduce this figure as far as we can to make space for others… and, above all to cushion some of the precarious accommodation or waiting situation there.”
Zorn stated that he could not say how many people are children or their families at the airport. He said that about half of Afghans evacuated by Germany’s flights were women.
In an effort to improve conditions at the airport, Germany sent supplies in Sunday. Zorn stated that they included diapers, baby pacifiers, and cuddly toys, as well food for children. There are more supplies in the pipeline.
Zorn stated that “the situation in front the gates remains difficult.” “I would also describe it as dramatic because of the large number of people who are interested in entering the airport grounds (and) the additional possibility for violence that is emerging on the ground within this group.”
PARIS — France’s foreign and defense ministers arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to meet military personnel. There, French planes are transporting people from Kabul.
Ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that Florence Parly and soldiers will meet with diplomats, police officers, and other personnel involved in evacuation operations.
Authorities said that France has evacuated over 1,000 Afghans and nearly 100 French citizens in the last week.
Monday saw the arrival of a seventh plane at Paris Airport, carrying 246 Afghans as well as five French.
According to the statement, ministers will also be visiting the UAE to praise the UAE’s support. The UAE has a permanent military base.
Parly and Le Drian will meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, the crown prince. They will discuss the Afghan situation and ways to “preserve regional security and stability.”
___
KABUL (Afghanistan) — Longtime Taliban spokesperson has asked imams in Afghanistan for assurances regarding Afghan security.
Monday’s meeting of clerics in Kabul featured Zabihullah Mujahid stating that they are responsible to keep their constituents calm.
He also advised them to “clear all the baseless propaganda”, which he claims is being propagated by the U.S. regarding the Taliban.
He said, “Imams keep your people calm. We should indoctrinate them to support the Islamic government of Afghanistan and Islamic Emirates. Afghanistan.”
Mujahid stated that government employees would soon be able return to work, and Afghans would remain safe under an earlier announced amnesty.
While the Taliban have offered amnesty for those who worked with NATO, the U.S. and the toppled Afghan government but many Afghans fear reprisals, Recent reports have indicated that the Taliban are hunting down former enemies.
___
AMMAN, Jordan — The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will allow 2,500 Afghan nationals fleeing Taliban rule to transit through Jordanian territory on their way to the U.S.
Minister spokesperson Ambassador Daifullah Al-Fayez stated Monday that the decision was taken for humanitarian reasons in order to assist with the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
He stated that arrangements have been made with the U.S. for Afghan citizens to be evacuated via Jordan.
___
ROME — 662 Afghans fleeing Afghanistan arrived at the U.S. Naval Air Base in Sicily. The U.S. uses overseas military bases to temporarily transit the country in an effort to speed up the evacuations after the Taliban takeover.
According to a statement by the U.S. military base, a U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender and two C-17 Globemaster III arrived at Sigonella’s air base from Qatar on Sunday. Sigonella, which is located on Sicily’s east coast near Catania and home to both an Italian-NATO base and the U.S. Naval Air Station is the U.S. Navy’s only overseas air station.
According to the U.S., Sigonella is being used as a “transit area” for evacuees. It also quoted Capt. Kevin Pickard stated that the Afghans would be joining “our American family.”
According to the statement, the evacuees are currently being accommodated in two barracks at the base. Anti-COVID-19 precautions are being taken and they are receiving medical care, Halal food and religious services.
___
BERLIN — Germany claims it has evacuated 2,725 Afghans as of Monday. This includes 1,787 Afghans, 282 Germans, and the remainder from other countries. It has evacuated people from 43 countries.
The military stated that two more flights with 198 and 180 evacuees each left Kabul on Monday afternoon.
According to the government, it is not able to say exactly how many Germans remain in Kabul as there are no obligations for Germans living abroad to register with their authorities. There are also no obligations for those who have been evacuated or are citizens of another country to notify German authorities.
Christofer Burger, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, stated that “we believe at this moment — this estimate — that a low-three-digit number of German citizens are still in Afghanistan.”
Steve Alter, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, stated that there have been only a handful of cases — less than 10 — where people arrived in Germany and were found to be on the radar of police.
___
MOSCOW — Russia insists that it will not interfere with the standoff between Taliban and their adversaries in Afghanistan.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said Monday that leaders from the Collective Security Treaty Organization member countries discussed the standoff, and the implications of “another civil War in Afghanistan.”
A Taliban spokesperson said Monday that the Taliban’s forces had surrounded Panjshir. This is the only of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces not yet under Taliban control. Panjshir has seen several Taliban supporters.
These include Amrullah Salh, who is the vice president of the toppled government and Ahmad Massoud (son of the slain commander in the Northern Alliance militias which partnered with America to drive the Taliban out of power in 2001).
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is comprised of Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
Moscow was a participant in a 10-year-long war in Afghanistan. It ended in 1989 with Soviet troops being evacuated. Moscow has since made a diplomatic comeback, playing a role as mediator and jockeying for influence with the U.S. Moscow hosted several rounds on Afghanistan talks, the most recent in March. These included Taliban, despite Russia calling them terrorist organizations.
___
COPENHAGEN (Denmark) — A 23-year old man, who was deported from Denmark for several criminal convictions and had managed to sneak back onto an evacuation plane from Afghanistan pretending that he was his brother.
Danish broadcaster DR reported that the man was identified by police as a member of an illegal criminal gang and was arrested upon his arrival in Denmark. The man is facing preliminary charges for violating an entry ban.
According to DR, the man sent to Afghanistan in July was one of the last to be deported from Denmark.
According to the BT newspaper, the man was reported as having arrived in Denmark by an evacuation plane on Sunday. He was then arrested. According to BT and DR reports, he was held in pre-trial detention on Monday.
Mette Frederiksen, Danish Prime Minister, stated Monday that Denmark had evacuated approximately 650 Kabul residents.
___
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Interior Minister says that the Taliban have promised his country they won’t allow the Taliban to use Afghan soil to attack Pakistan.
Monday’s Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated that his ministry had information that some leaders and members from the Pakistani Taliban (or Tehreek-etaliban Pakistan) were released from Afghan prisons during the Taliban sweep.
Ahmed claimed that Islamabad had been in touch with the Taliban regarding the matter.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for many attacks in the past, including the attack on Peshawar’s school in 2014 that resulted in the deaths of 154 schoolchildren.
Islamabad claims that the Pakistani Taliban are hiding in Afghanistan since the beginning of the last few years after fleeing from Pakistani military operations.
Ahmed said that Pakistan has assisted more than 2,000 Pakistanis and foreigners to leave Afghanistan via land and air routes since last week. All diplomats, foreigners, and journalists who wish to leave Kabul are issued visas by Pakistan upon their arrival. This is due to security concerns.
___
THE HAGUE (Netherlands) — The Netherlands authorities have confirmed that the temporary accommodation facility for Afghan evacuees at a northern Dutch army barracks is now full. A second location is currently being prepared.
According to the government agency housing asylum seekers, the Zoutcamp camp reached its capacity Sunday night with the arrival of 178 Afghan refugees.
To accommodate more Afghans, a new accommodation center has been opened in Zeist. It is located at the southernmost point of Zeist.
According to the Dutch defense ministry, nine flights have been made from Kabul to the airports of the region in the past year since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Six flights carrying more than 800 Afghan evacuees have reached the Netherlands. This includes citizens from other countries, Afghans, and Dutch nationals.
___
BEIJING — China has once again criticised the United States over Afghanistan and said that America can’t simply leave the war-torn nation.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, stated Monday that the United States was the root cause of the Afghan problem and is the largest external factor. It cannot run away like this.
He urged the U.S. government to support stability, prevent chaos, and rebuild Afghanistan.
He stated that he hoped the U.S. side would match its words and take on its responsibilities in Afghanistan.
China expressed willingness to work with all Afghan parties, including the Taliban to rebuild the war-torn country.
___
WARSAW (Poland) – Poland’s deputy foreign minister said that more than 400 people have been evacuated from Kabul by Poland so far. This includes Afghans and Poles who were working for the Polish diplomatic mission or pro-democracy initiatives. There are more flights planned.
Marcin Przydacz stated Monday on Polish Radio 24 that the situation at Kabul Airport was becoming more stressful, adding to the pressure on evacuations.
After a call with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister, said that Poland was thanked by the International Monetary Fund for its successful evacuation of its personnel from Kabul. Poland will also evacuate 300 NATO staff in Afghanistan.
According to Michal Dworczyk, Morawiecki’s top aide Michal Dworczyk, seven planes already have brought evacuees from Afghanistan to Poland. Another one with around 70 Afghan evacuees was expected to arrive in Warsaw Monday.
Dwroczyk claimed that the plane was delayed for several hours in Uzbekistan because of “problems at site,” which he didn’t describe.
Another passenger plane is currently on its way to Uzbekistan. This is a stopover along the evacuation route. Kabul evacuatees are taken to Kabul on military planes, and then flown by the national carrier, LOT, to Warsaw.
___
LONDON — Britain has urged the United States to extend the evacuation efforts in Kabul past the Aug. 31 deadline. Without the Americans, other countries will be forced to cease operations to aid people fleeing Taliban rule.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will press President Joe Biden during an emergency meeting of Group of Seven Leaders on Tuesday.
Some U.K. military officials have suggested that Britain should maintain troops at Kabul’s airport in order to carry out the evacuation efforts even if the Americans withdraw. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey stated Monday that “there would not be an international airlift if the U.S. were not supporting it.”
He stated that the question of whether the U.S. can persuade to stay was for the prime minister tomorrow at the G-7 meeting. He also said that a Taliban agreement would be required for any extension.
Biden said that he would consider extending the airlift beyond his Aug. 31 deadline, but that he hopes it will not be necessary.
Britain claims its forces have evacuated over 5,700 people from Kabul, mainly U.K. citizens, and 1,821 in the past 24 hours.
___
UNITED NATIONS — According to the U.N. agency, children, Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation will worsen because of a severe drought and the onset winter.
UNICEF estimates that 10 million Afghan children are already able to survive on humanitarian aid, and another million will be affected by life-threatening malnutrition in the coming year. UNICEF estimates that 4.2 million children in Afghanistan, including 2.2million girls, are not attending school.
Afghanistan was poor and dependent on international aid even before the Taliban overtook it earlier in the month.
UNICEF director Henrietta Fore stated in a Monday statement that “this is the grim truth facing Afghan children, and it continues to be so regardless of ongoing political developments or changes in government.”
She stated that UNICEF is determined to remain in Afghanistan and is increasing its operations. UNICEF hopes UNICEF will provide assistance in areas that are currently unreachable due to the ongoing war.
___
KABUL — France’s Envoy to Afghanistan claims that French Special Forces, backed by the U.S. Army, have helped 260 Afghans work with the European Union delegation get to Kabul airport.
Ambassador David Martinon tweeted Monday morning that they had been “welcomed at the French Embassy’s waiting room prior to boarding.” Bravo to the EU
Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief, says that protection will be granted to around 400 Afghans who were part of the delegation. They will be sent to Spain to undergo screening, before being distributed to other EU countries that are willing to grant visas to them.
___
BERLIN — German military reports that a fight broke out at Kabul’s North Gate early Monday morning between Afghan security forces, and “unknown attackers.”
In a tweet, the military stated that one Afghan security guard was killed and three others were injured in the early morning incident. The military stated that U.S. forces and German forces also intervened and that no German soldiers were injured.
Later, the German military clarified the fact that the Afghan officer was part of “the Afghan army”, which is a group of Afghan troops involved in the security operation at the airport.
It was not possible to find out more information or who the attackers were. The Taliban, who are guarding the perimeter of Kabul’s airport, have not yet opened fire on NATO troops or Afghan troops inside.
According to the British military, Monday’s incident occurred after seven Afghans were killed in panicked crowds trying to get into Kabul’s international airport. A week after the Taliban tookover, thousands were still fleeing the country in a chaotic exodus.
Monday’s announcement by the German Defense Ministry stated that more than 2,700 Afghans have been evacuated from Kabul since the evacuations began. There were 38 nationalities among them. German A400M transport planes are moving between Kabul, Uzbekistan and Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
___
COPENHAGEN (Denmark) — Monday’s landing in Oslo was the fourth in the last days of flights to Norway by a plane carrying Norwegian citizens from Afghanistan and other nationals with links to Norway.
According to the Norwegian news agency NTB, the foreign ministry of the Scandinavian country declined to give any details about the flight or say how many people were aboard.
Ann Linde, the Swedish Foreign Minister, stated Monday that more than 170 Afghans had been evacuated. She said, “I am happy that we can now accept local employees, while we continue to evacuate more local workers.”
Denmark has also been involved in the evacuation of Afghans. Finland stated that 110 people have been evacued so far. These include citizens of Finland as well as people who are permanent residents in Finland.
___
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden raises concerns about the Islamic State as American troops attempt to evacuate thousands from Afghanistan of American citizens and Afghan allies.
Biden made remarks to the White House on Sunday, noting that the Taliban terror group is a “sworn adversary of the Taliban”. He also said that the possibility that the terrorist group would attempt to attack innocent civilians near Hamid Karzai International Airport increases if the U.S. troops remain on the ground for longer periods.
Americans are being warned by the U.S Embassy in Kabul to avoid flying to Kabul airport because of Islamic State fighters.
This extremist group has declared its desire to attack America and U.S. interests overseas for years. It has been active in Afghanistan since a few years and has carried out waves of horrendous attacks mainly on the Shiite minority.
In recent years, the group was repeatedly attacked by U.S. aircraft and also faced Taliban attacks.
___
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said that 11,000 people were evacuated from Kabul this weekend. He remains committed to helping all Americans who wish to flee Afghanistan.
Biden stated Sunday that his number one priority is to get American citizens out Afghanistan as quickly and safely possible.
The president said, “We’re working hard to get people out. This is our mission. This is our goal.
Biden said that he will also activate the civilian reserve air aircraft fleet of commercial airlines in order to move evacuees to the United States from third-country waystations.
