Status: 08/19/2021 8:19 p.m.
There is still chaos at the airport in Kabul. More than 5,000 US soldiers are deployed to secure evacuation flights. The G7 are now calling on the Taliban to guarantee the safety of all those wishing to leave the country.
The foreign ministers of the G7 countries have demanded security guarantees for Afghans and foreigners who want to leave the country from the radical Islamic Taliban. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, whose country currently chairs the G7, said the militia must ensure safe conduct for all people who want to leave the country.
It is currently difficult for Afghan people wishing to leave the country to get to the airport in Kabul because they are held up at Taliban checkpoints. There is still chaos around the airport. Local helpers from German organizations reported that the streets were congested and sometimes impassable.
Sven Lohmann, ARD London, on the G7 meeting on Afghanistan
tagesschau24 6:00 p.m., August 19, 2021
More than 5000 US soldiers in action
CNN journalist Clarissa Ward, one of the few foreign journalists still on site, spoke of a “tornado of madness”. According to her, people threw babies over the fence to keep them safe. The Taliban are on the move with whips and weapons to hold the people back.
According to its own statements, the US military is now deployed with around 5,200 soldiers. They are supposed to ensure the security of the airport and, among other things, organize the evacuation of Americans and former Afghan employees of the US armed forces.
Bundeswehr General speaks of “dramatic scenes”
“Everything is very, very turbulent,” said Brigadier General Jens Arlt, who leads the German evacuation operation on site. Shots can be heard repeatedly in the background. “You see the desperate eyes of Afghans and citizens of different nations who are simply trying to get into the inner area of Kabul International Airport, what we see is quite dramatic.” At an online press conference, Arlt stated that “various representatives” on the German side were trying to find “our people” in the outdoor areas.
The Bundeswehr has flown more than 1200 people from Kabul so far. The evacuations continue with further flights.
Thousands are trying to get to the airport
There are various entrances to the Kabul airport site. Many people are at the entrance to the civil part, which is at the south end of the airport. Commercial flights are processed from there, but these are currently discontinued. At the north end there is an entrance to the military part. Another entrance is about a kilometer east of the entrance to the civilian part. Around these entrances – but also along the blast protection walls that surround the site – thousands of people wait or try somehow to get onto the site.
Biden brings extension of the US mission into play
US President Joe Biden emphasized that the chaos during the withdrawal of US troops was inevitable – because of the collapse of the Afghan government, the military and the rapid takeover of power by the Taliban. He assured the television station ABC that the US soldiers at the airport could, if necessary, stay beyond the planned departure date on August 31.
“If there are still American citizens there, we’ll stay until we get them all out.” The US president admitted problems evacuating Afghans. The Taliban would cooperate and let US citizens and embassy employees leave the country. Things continue to be chaotic around the airport, “but nobody is being killed at the moment”. The US Department of Defense confirmed reports that soldiers had also fired in the air to contain the crowd outside the airport.
Chaotic conditions during evacuation from Afghanistan
Sibylle Licht, ARD New Delhi, daily news 5:00 p.m., August 19, 2021