Pentagon activates reserve of civilian jets to speed up evacuation from Afghanistan as Taliban accuses US of chaos

0


[ad_1]

The Pentagon has activated this Sunday its Civilian Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) for the third time in history to accelerate the evacuation of American citizens and allies from Afghanistan, while Taliban blamed US for airport mess of Kabul which caused deadly crowds.

The Taliban, who took control of the South Asian country a week ago, blamed Washington directly for the chaotic evacuation. “The United States, with all its power and its facilities, have failed to restore order at the airport”, he pointed the leader of the movement, Amir Khan Muttaqi, quoted by AFP, and contrasted this reality with “calm and peace” that would exist in areas of the rest of the country controlled by the insurgents. “There is only chaos at Kabul airport,” he added.

The Taliban indictment comes shortly after a stampede outside the airfield. At least seven civilians who tried to enter the terminal were crushed or suffocated to death On Saturday, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.

Amid these tragic scenes and in an attempt to speed up transport work, the Pentagon announced the activation of the first stage of its civilian reserve air fleet, a mechanism rarely used.

The 18 planes of Civilian airlines will not fly directly to KabulInstead, they will pick up the evacuees from “safe temporary shelters and makeshift bases”. And transport works from the Afghan capital will continue with the help of military planes.

The US Department of Defense also confirmed that this was the third time that CRAF had been activated. Established in 1952 in the wake of the Berlin Airlift after WWII, the fleet was only used twice before the current evacuation, during the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. .

  • Last Sunday, the Taliban took Kabul and gave for finished his offensive across Afghanistan as President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country. Before the insurgents arrived in the city, a multitude of people rushed to leave the country and the airport in the capital became scene of chaos and jostling.

* The Taliban movement, designated as a “terrorist organization” by the UN Security Council, is declared a terrorist group and banned in Russia.

Disclaimer: This article is generated from the feed and not edited by our team.

[ad_2]

Share.

Comments are closed.