White House calls for civilian planes to help evacuate Afghans

Afghanistan Updates

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The Biden administration is considering extending the deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. personnel from Afghanistan, after ordering civilian airlines to help move Afghan refugees out of bases in the Middle East.

Western forces are still struggling to evacuate the locals amid chaotic scenes at Kabul airport a week after the Taliban took control.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday activated the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet to provide commercial aircraft to support efforts to evacuate temporary shelters. This would allow military planes to focus on flights entering and leaving Kabul International Airport.

US carriers including American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta, United, Omni Air and Hawaiian Airlines would provide a combined total of 18 aircraft, the Pentagon said.

Thousands of Afghans desperate to leave the country were still crowded around Kabul international airport on Sunday, but were unable to enter the area controlled by US forces.

President Joe Biden suggested on Sunday that the deadline for the withdrawal of all U.S. personnel could be extended beyond August 31.

“There are discussions between us and the military on the extension. Our hope is that we will not have to prolong, but there will be discussions, I suppose, on the state of progress of the process, ”he said in response to questions from reporters.

He again defended his administration against fierce criticism that it spoiled the US withdrawal.

“The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be difficult and painful no matter when it started or when we started,” he said.

“This would have been true if we had started a month ago or in a month, there is no way to evacuate so many people painlessly and without loss, heartbreaking pictures you see on TV.”

The Taliban, who control the entry points on the civilian side of the airport, set up checkpoints leading to the transport hub and, according to witnesses cited by Reuters, fired in the air and used batons to try to manage the crowds. A NATO official said at least 20 people had died in and around the airport in the past seven days.

A person briefed on the evacuation process said it was nearly impossible for people to enter the airport unless they had a diplomatic escort provided by Qatar, which maintains relations with the United States and the United States. Taliban.

Qatar has transported thousands of people to the airport and resumed operations over the weekend after suspending them on Friday due to security concerns.

Christian Nellemann, executive director of the Rhipto-Norwegian Center for Global Analyzes in Norway, said that while the Taliban appeared to let Westerners pass through checkpoints, they were preventing Afghans from passing.

” They are looking for. . . especially for members of the Afghan security services, which means they are targeting high priority targets, ”he said.

“What we fear is that once the evacuation of Westerners is complete, they will start to bring people together in a more systematic way.”

The United States issued a warning on Saturday telling its citizens not to travel to Kabul airport unless instructed otherwise. US officials have also warned of the growing risk of terrorist attacks launched by the Afghan branch of the terrorist group Isis, which launched a rocket attack on the presidential palace in Kabul last month.

The Taliban recaptured Kabul a week ago after a blitz across the country, regaining control for the first time since being ousted by the 2001 US invasion that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Afghans who were part of ousted President Ashraf Ghani’s government, as well as security forces, activists and journalists said they were threatened by Taliban fighters who went door to door looking for collaborators. Ghani fled the country before the Taliban took control.

Taliban leaders, including co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Kabul over the weekend with the aim of forming a new administration. Hamid Karzai, former Afghan president, and former peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah, pushed for an inclusive government that reflects the country’s ethnic diversity and for roles in the new administration.

Karzai and Abdullah met with senior Taliban officials, including those of the Haqqani Network, a Taliban affiliate closely linked to Pakistani intelligence services, with the aim of reaching a power-sharing deal.

Additional reporting by Andrew England and Helen Warrell in London