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Kabul evac5/25/2023 ![]() An Afghan solider was killed Monday in a gunfight.īritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Group of Seven nations will not recognize a Taliban government unless it guarantees people can leave the country if they wish, both before and after the August deadline. At least seven people died that day, and another seven died Sunday in a panicked stampede. military transport plane as it took off, later plunging to their deaths. Afghans poured onto the tarmac last week and some clung to a U.S. Tragic scenes at the airport have transfixed the world. However, Biden waited until the Taliban had swept to power this month, following the collapse of the U.S.-backed government and its army, to begin executing an airlift. ![]() Former President Donald Trump had earlier agreed in negotiations with the Taliban to end the war in May. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters Monday that “it was hard for me to imagine” wrapping up the airlifts by the end of the month.īiden decided in April that he was ending the U.S. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.Īnd Democratic Rep. “We need to have the top priority to tell the Taliban that we’re going to get all of our people out, regardless of what timeline was initially set,” said Rep. Some Republicans bristled Tuesday at the U.S. It’s unclear how many Americans who want to leave are still in the country, but their status is a hot political topic for Biden. He also said the military would have to start moving troops and their equipment out of Kabul several days prior to Aug. “We expect that number to grow in coming days,” Kirby said. ![]() He said about 4,000 American passport holders and their family members had been evacuated from Kabul as of Tuesday. 31 leaves enough time to get all Americans out, but he was less specific about completing the evacuation of all at-risk Afghans. British, French and other officials argued for extending the deadline, officials said.Īt the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby said Aug. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden, whose handling of the hastily arranged evacuation has been roundly criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike, announced during a meeting of fellow leaders of the G-7 industrialized nations that he planned to stick to the Aug. He also said the Taliban would bar Afghans from accessing roads to the airport, while allowing foreigners to pass in order to prevent large crowds from massing. must stick to its self-imposed deadline, saying “after that we won’t let Afghans be taken out” on evacuation flights. In Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference the U.S. Any decision by Biden to stay longer could reignite a war between the militants and the approximately 5,800 American troops who are executing the airlift at Kabul airport. The Taliban, who have wrested control of the country back nearly 20 years after being ousted in a U.S.-led invasion after the 9/11 attacks, insist the airlift must end on Aug. But unknown thousands of other foreign nationals remain in Afghanistan and are struggling to get out. Pentagon officials expressed confidence the airlift can get all Americans out by next Tuesday, the deadline Biden had set long before the Taliban completed their takeover. The United States in recent days has ramped up its airlift amid new reports of rights abuses that fuel concern about the fate of thousands of people who fear retribution from the Taliban and are trying to flee the country.īiden said he had asked the Pentagon and State Department for evacuation contingency plans that would adjust the timeline for full withdrawal should that become necessary. “But it’s a tenuous situation,” he said, adding, “We run a serious risk of it breaking down as time goes on.” He said the Taliban are cooperating and security is holding despite a number of violent incidents. “Every day we’re on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both us and allied forces and innocent civilians,” Biden said at the White House, referring to the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate, which is known for staging suicide attacks on civilians. Watch President Joe Biden’s remarks in the video player above. The decision defies allied leaders who want to give the evacuation more time, and opens Biden to criticism that he caved to Taliban deadline demands. 31 deadline for completing a risky airlift of Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. President Joe Biden declared Tuesday he is sticking to his Aug.
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