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Biden administration officials said on Wednesday that US troops may leave Afghanistan before August 31, but Washington’s efforts to help its citizens and Afghan allies leave the country will far exceed that deadline.
Secretary of State Anthony Brinken believes that with a well-functioning airport and international pressure, those who wish to leave Afghanistan will be able to leave.
“Let me make this clear: there is no deadline for our work,” Brinken said, emphasizing that efforts to help any remaining American citizens or Afghan partners will take place after the end of this month.
“The Taliban have made public and private commitments to provide and allow safe passage for Americans, third-country nationals and Afghans at risk after August 31.”
The senior US diplomat said that Washington and its global allies will do everything they can to pressure the Taliban to leave after they withdraw.
Given its cruel past, Brinken did not specify how the United States will let the organization fulfill its promises. Despite his guarantee, Report Rising rampant abuse The Taliban and the public urged Afghans not to go to the airport.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki reiterated Brinken’s message late Wednesday.
Psaki said: “We are studying a range of options so that we can continue to provide consular support and facilitate their departure for those who wish to leave after August 31.”
“Our expectation and the expectation of the international community is that people who want to leave Afghanistan after the U.S. military leaves should be able to do so.”
Brinken said that both the international community and the Taliban are interested in keeping Kabul Airport open in the future.
Anthony Brinken said that after the U.S. military is scheduled to withdraw on August 31, regional countries are “actively working” to play a role to keep Kabul Airport open.
“This situation is very active now,” he told reporters, but did not specify the countries involved in the work.
Earlier this year, before the Taliban took over, Turkey proposed to send troops to protect the airport after the U.S. withdrawal, but Ankara started Pull the army Go abroad on Wednesday.
Taliban get Control With the U.S. withdrawal deadline looming, Afghanistan launched a lightning offensive earlier this month. The organization occupied Kabul on August 15. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the Afghan government fell.
On August 23, 2021, evacuees wait to board the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul [Sgt Isaiah Campbell/US Marine Corps via AP]The US military has been controlling Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and Afghan allies.
The chaotic scene disrupted the evacuation operation scheduled to end on August 31. However, if all Americans willing to leave are not airlifted out of the country after the epidemic is over, the US government has left room for the extension of the final withdrawal period. moon.
“The sooner we finish, the better. Every day’s actions bring additional risks to our troops,” Biden said.
“But it will be completed by August 31. It is up to the Taliban to continue to cooperate and allow the people we transport to enter the airport without interrupting our operations.”
The President also asked the Pentagon and the State Department to develop a “contingency plan” to stay after the deadline.
However, government officials have repeatedly emphasized that the task is to “In step“To be completed on time.
On Wednesday, Brinken said that 4,500 of the estimated total of 6,000 American citizens in Afghanistan have been airlifted out of the country.
“We have directly contacted about 500 other Americans and provided specific instructions on how to reach the airport safely,” Brinken told reporters.
As for the remaining 1,000 people, the senior U.S. diplomat said that the State Department “proactively contacted them several times a day” and instructed them to arrive at the airport.
According to Blinken, the United States has evacuated more than 82,300 people from Afghanistan since August 14.
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