After the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the Islamist Taliban took power in the country – and are redesigning it according to their ideas. The most important developments in the news blog.
US President Joe Biden threatens the IS offshoot in Afghanistan with further retaliation. “The attack was not the last. We will continue to hunt down anyone involved in the heinous attack and hold them accountable,” says Biden. His commanders had informed him that another attack was most likely imminent in the next 24 to 36 hours. According to the US military, two high-ranking representatives of the local IS offshoot were killed in a US air strike in Nangarhar province on Saturday.
The air strike was in retaliation for the attack at Kabul airport that killed dozens of people on Thursday, including 13 US soldiers. “We will continue to hunt down, capture and pay for everyone who was involved in this vicious attack,” said the US President. Any attack on US interests or the military will be retaliated, he warned. “There will never be a doubt about that,” said Biden. (08/28/2021)
US Army begins withdrawal from Kabul Airport
The US military says it has started withdrawing its troops from Kabul Airport. That said the spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby. The US troops are supposed to leave Afghanistan by Tuesday at the will of US President Joe Biden. On Friday, more than 5,000 US soldiers were stationed at Kabul Airport. Kirby said the military would not initially release new numbers on troop strength for security reasons. The US military will be able to fly out Western citizens and former Afghan employees until the end of the mission.
At the same time, Kirby stressed that all gates of the airport were still under the control of US troops. In doing so, the Pentagon spokesman contradicted the Taliban, who had claimed that the United States had handed over several entrances to the airport to Islamist forces on Saturday night. The Taliban have set up security checkpoints around the airport, Kirby said. “But they do not control gates, they are not at the airport and they have no role in security.” (08/28/2021)
Bundeswehr withdraws ambulance aircraft
The Bundeswehr has now also withdrawn its medical aircraft from Tashkent in Uzbekistan, which was stationed there for a possible rescue of the injured from Kabul in Afghanistan. The flying intensive care unit MedEvac on board the transport machine A400M flew on Saturday from Tashkent in Uzbekistan to Wunstorf near Hanover. They landed there in the late afternoon, as confirmed by the Air Force. On Friday evening, three Bundeswehr machines from Tashkent landed in Wunstorf, bringing about 380 soldiers back from the mission.
On Sunday, the last two transport machines from Tashkent are to return to Germany with material and ammunition on board. Then the turnstile of the rescue operation in Uzbekistan will also be history. (08/28/2021)
Britain ends civilian flights from Kabul
Britain has essentially completed the rescue of civilians from Afghanistan on Operation Pitting. As the Ministry of Defense announced, the country is not planning any further flights specifically for civilians. However, flights from Kabul for British military personnel will continue, which will also take a small number of Afghans with them. British forces have flown nearly 15,000 civilians out since the mission began. Approximately 1,000 members of the military, diplomatic corps and civilian aides were involved in the operation.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about the situation in Afghanistan on Saturday, according to his office. Both had agreed that international aid and a common approach by the industrialized countries organized in the G7 group were necessary. The UK currently chairs the G7. According to the announcement, Johnson stressed that cooperation with the Taliban must be conditional on them allowing those willing to leave the country and respecting human rights. (08/28/2021)
US military attacks IS offshoots
According to its own statements, the US military reacted to the deadly terrorist attack in Kabul with a retaliatory attack and attacked a local branch of the IS terrorist militia. The US central command Centcom announced that the unmanned air strike in the Afghan province of Nangarhar was aimed at “a planner” from Isis-K. “According to the first signs, we killed the target,” said spokesman Bill Urban. The Bloomberg news agency, citing a US representative, reported that the person allegedly had no direct connection to the terrorist attack at Kabul airport, but was suspected by the US of being involved in planning further attacks. According to the agency, the person was killed by a Reaper drone while traveling in a vehicle.
At the same time, the US feared another terrorist attack in Kabul. The US embassy again published a security warning that night and called on all compatriots to immediately leave the area around the entrance gates to the airport. Centcom spokesman Urban said with a view to the air strike: “We do not know of any civilian casualties.” The Central Command did not provide any further details.
US President Joe Biden swore revenge after the attack in Kabul. Dozens of people were killed in the terrorist attack at the airport on Thursday – including 13 US soldiers. “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and let you pay for it,” Biden said shortly after the attack. On Friday, his spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated the president’s determination: “He made it clear that he does not want them to still live on earth.” She responded to the question of whether Biden wanted to kill the perpetrators of the attack or bring them to justice. (08/28/2021)
Federal prosecutor investigates after shooting Germans in Kabul
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation into the gunshot wounds of a German at the airport in Kabul. Since it is still unclear who fired the shot, the proceedings will be conducted against unknown persons. A spokesman said there was an initial suspicion of membership in a terrorist group in the offense with dangerous bodily harm.
The victim was shot on the way to the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul last Friday. The situation around the airport has been chaotic since the Taliban came to power. The situation is extremely dangerous. Another German was slightly injured near the airport. (08/28/2021)
USA wants to fly at least 500 more Americans from Afghanistan
The US is currently trying to fly around 500 Americans out of Afghanistan. They wanted to leave and you are in direct contact with them, said the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Ned Price. They are also in contact with several hundred citizens who have not yet decided whether they want to leave the country. The number of people who wanted to stay because they didn’t want to leave loved ones behind was “relatively small,” Price said.
The “overwhelming majority” of the local employees and their family members have meanwhile also been flown out or are on the airport premises. Without these employees, embassies around the world couldn’t function, Price said. “” These people served the United States, they not only worked for us, they worked with us, they are our colleagues. “08/27/2021)
Comment: The Taliban cannot fill the power vacuum
Taliban call female health workers to work
The Taliban have urged all women working in the public health sector to return to work. The Ministry of Health is instructing all female employees in the capital and the provinces to return to their jobs, according to a tweet by Taliban spokesman Sabiullah Mujahid. Nothing stands in the way of doing their work.
It is still largely unclear whether women in Afghanistan will be able to continue doing their jobs after the Taliban came to power. So far there have only been more specific statements in the health and education sectors that women should return to work. In the health sector, there had recently been reports from the north of the country that midwives, for example, were no longer allowed to attend meetings with male doctors. During the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001, women were not allowed to be treated by male doctors, which severely restricted their health care. (08/28/2021)
Around 300 Germans and more than 10,000 Afghans on German exit lists
Even after the rescue operation has been completed, the Federal Government wants to help the Germans, Afghan local staff or people at risk who have remained in Afghanistan. The government spokesman Steffen Seibert announced in Berlin. The number of local workers still in the country and people identified to leave the country is changing steadily and is more than 10,000, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office.
It is currently not possible to say how many of the people may have already left in another way. The number of Germans in Afghanistan is estimated at around 300. The Interior Ministry assured that everyone on the list of the Foreign Office would get an entry permit to Germany.
According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, a total of 5,347 people were evacuated from Afghanistan via the airlift. They come from at least 45 countries, said a spokeswoman. Among them were around 500 Germans and 4,000 Afghans. An attempt is now being made to enable further departure either overland or the continued operation of the civil airport in Kabul, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. To this end, the consulates in neighboring countries would also be reinforced.
He pointed out that in the months before the fall of Kabul, 1900 local workers had been flown out who were seen to be at risk. In the past few days there has been an increasing trend in Kabul that the Germans who remain there are being asked by unknown sources to come to certain places in Kabul. The Foreign Office warned of these cases of disinformation. (08/27/2021)
Number of attack victims increases again – Pentagon makes it clear: only one suicide bomber
The number of people killed in the attack at Kabul airport continues to rise. Afghan health authorities now speak of 79 locals killed, after the last mention of 72 deaths. Since 13 US soldiers also died, the total number of victims now rises to at least 92. At least 28 Taliban fighters are said to be among the dead.
Outside the Kabul airport, a suicide bomber blew himself up on Thursday. At times there was also talk of two detonations. However, the Pentagon has since corrected this. US Major General William Taylor said on Friday at the Pentagon that it was not certain how the false information about two suicide bombers could have come about the previous day. (08/27/2021)
USA: With allies brought more than 100,000 people from Kabul
According to the White House, the US Air Force and its allies have already flown more than 100,000 people out of Kabul. On Thursday alone, around 7500 people were brought out of the city from the morning until shortly before midnight (Kabul time), 5100 of them with aircraft of the US military, said a representative of the US government. This means that the number of Afghans and Western citizens who have flown out since mid-August has risen to 100 100. The majority of them were flown out on US Air Force aircraft.
According to the US military, more than 5,000 people are still waiting for an evacuation at Kabul airport. The number has decreased somewhat, says Major General William Taylor. The US is able to fly people out until the last minute. (08/27/2021)