Afghanistan: precarious situation at Kabul airport

The situation at Kabul Airport is becoming more and more dangerous, the Bundeswehr is now also deployed outside the premises. There was an exchange of fire with a dead man. The Taliban only want to tolerate the evacuation operation until August 31.

The situation at Kabul Airport remains confusing and chaotic – and is evidently becoming more and more dangerous, also for the Bundeswehr. Because access to the airport is becoming more and more difficult, the force is now also deployed outside the massively secured area to bring people to safety.

According to reports, elite soldiers from the Special Forces Command (KSK) are also involved. According to the Ministry of Defense, two German helicopters that were brought to Afghanistan to evacuate people at risk from the urban area have not yet been used. “Aviation security must be given and it must always be weighed whether the use of helicopters is really the best option,” said a spokesman for the ministry.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer justified the move to deploy the Bundeswehr at the gates of the airport at the moment it is almost impossible to get to the airport. “That’s why we have to go much more closely to picking up people, so to speak. We do that.”

Fear of terrorist attacks by other groups

She described the situation in the Afghan capital as very tense and also confirmed that there were increasing terror threats. “We have an unbelievable number of refugees in the city, we have a deteriorated supply situation, we are also increasingly faced with threats from other terrorist groups,” said the CDU politician on “Bild TV”. She did not give any further details. The USA warned of attacks by the terrorist organization “Islamic State” on Sunday.

“The situation is still difficult, I would describe it as dramatic at the gates,” is how the highest-ranking German soldier, Inspector General Eberhard Zorn, sums it up: “The concentration of those who want to get into the airport area is enormous additional potential for violence. “

Maas presents five-point plan

According to Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the federal government is currently talking to the USA and Turkey about whether the airport in Kabul can continue to be operated for civilian purposes. You are also in contact with the Taliban.

The discussions on the civil use of the airport are part of a five-point plan that Maas presented in Berlin. Second, talk to Afghanistan’s neighbors so that they can take in refugees who leave the country by land. For this, 100 million euros have been made available, according to Maas.

In addition, German embassies in neighboring countries should quickly and easily issue visas for entry into Germany. Fourth, the staff in the diplomatic missions will be increased there in order to enable a smooth process. Fifth, the program for Afghans at particular risk will be increased by a further ten million euros, said the SPD politician.

In the course of the evacuation of the Bundeswehr, two more planes with a total of 378 people in need of protection have landed on board from Kabul in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Bundeswehr announced this on Twitter. One of the A400M military transporters also carried relief supplies for the people at the airport, including food and clothing, on its outward flight to the Afghan capital.

The Bundeswehr has flown 3,000 people out to date

The Defense Ministry announced that the Bundeswehr has flown almost 3,000 people from Kabul since the start of their evacuation campaign. According to the Foreign Office, more than 1,800 Afghans were among them.

The US announced that the pace of evacuations at Kabul airport had picked up speed overall. By early morning, 28 US military flights had flown around 10,400 people from Kabul within 24 hours, the White House said. In addition, 61 aircraft from allied nations brought 5,900 people to safety.

One dead in an exchange of fire

In the morning, German soldiers were involved in a firefight with unknown attackers in front of the airport for the first time. One Afghan security force was killed and three others injured.

According to the Bundeswehr operations command, the exchange of fire at the airport took place at the north gate of the airport, in front of which thousands of people have been waiting for days to come on one of the evacuation flights. Obviously, soldiers from the now defunct Afghan army, who are deployed at the outer access lock to the airport, took part in the defensive battle.

But US soldiers guarding the inner access lock and Bundeswehr soldiers also intervened in the defensive battle. The injured Afghan soldiers were treated by Norwegian medics on the airport premises. The non-governmental organization Emergency reported that at least six people were injured with gunshot wounds. But none of the people shot were in mortal danger.

Duration of the rescue operation unclear

Overall, there is not much time left for the rescue operation. The militant Islamist Taliban do not want to agree to an extension of the evacuation mission beyond August 31. This deadline is a “red line,” said a Taliban spokesman for the British news broadcaster Sky News. “If they plan to extend the crew, it will provoke a reaction.”

NATO currently does not want to give a specific date for an end to the evacuation flights. “The situation at the airport in Kabul remains extremely challenging and unpredictable,” said an alliance spokesman in Brussels. Work is being done with allied troops to continue the evacuations.

G7 special summit on Tuesday

The heads of state and government of the seven leading industrial nations as well as representatives of the EU want to speak at a special summit on Tuesday about the situation in Afghanistan and about a possible extension of the evacuation mission.

The US schedule is actually to withdraw all troops by August 31, which would mean that the evacuation operation for foreigners and Afghans endangered by the Taliban should probably end by the end of this week. Most recently, however, US President Joe Biden announced that the US government is in talks with the military about a possible extension beyond the end of the month. Several NATO partners support this, such as Great Britain and France.

Taliban recapture territories

According to a spokesman, the Taliban are said to have recaptured three districts in northern Afghanistan that had fallen under the control of local militias. It is about the districts of Badachschan, Tachar and Andarab.

The Taliban also declared that the Punjir Valley, the last province they did not control, was surrounded by their fighters. First of all, however, the focus should be on a dialogue. In the valley about 150 kilometers north of Kabul, Ahmed Massoud, son of the former Northern Alliance leader Ahmend Shah Massoud, and the former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh have called for resistance.

With information from Kai Küstner, ARD capital studio