As of: 08/21/2021 8:25 am
300 Afghans have landed on the US Ramstein base, where they are housed in a hangar. According to the US State Department, refugees are temporarily living in 13 states from Albania to Uganda.
From Kabul to the Palatinate: Late on Friday evening, the first two C-17 transport aircraft with around 300 people on board landed at the US Air Force Base Ramstein near Kaiserlautern. The Afghans are temporarily housed in an aircraft hangar.
The US rescue flights from Afghanistan are to be handled mainly through this European base. Ramstein is the most important military transport and cargo airport for the US armed forces in Europe. In the air base, US citizens and local staff from Afghanistan are to be prepared for their onward flight to the USA.
State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed that the first flights had arrived in Ramstein. He assumes that there will be other locations around the world in the coming days to which people from Afghanistan could be temporarily brought.
With the cargo plane to safety
In the past few days, the US Army had flown by far the largest proportion of those seeking protection from Kabul. According to the Pentagon, at least 7,000 people have been rescued since last Saturday. The C-17 “Globemaster” machines used for this are significantly larger than, for example, the A400 M used by the German Armed Forces.
According to the Pentagon, it is unclear how many people seeking protection will have to bring the United States to safety overall. US President Biden spoke of about 50,000 to 65,000 aid workers including their families.
This photo, distributed by the US Army, shows people in Kabul waiting in front of a C-17 cargo plane.
Image: dpa
USA thank for cooperation
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the states, including Germany, who would work with the US on the evacuation mission in Afghanistan: “We very much appreciate this support and are proud to work with these countries to jointly support the Afghan people. ”
According to Blinkens, 13 countries have agreed to temporarily accommodate Afghans. These people would find accommodation in facilities in Albania, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mexico, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Ukraine and Uganda, Blinken said.
NATO appeals to the Taliban
According to NATO, around 12,000 foreigners and Afghans who worked for embassies and aid organizations have been flown out since the Taliban’s invasion of Kabul. A spokesman admitted to the Reuters news agency that the rescue operation is progressing slowly. He emphasized that it is essential to avoid clashes with Taliban fighters and clashes with civilians.
NATO wants to intensify its evacuation efforts. At the same time, the military alliance urged the Taliban not to hinder ongoing actions. “We expect the Taliban to enable all foreign nationals and Afghans who want to leave the country to leave the country safely,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after a special meeting of the foreign ministers of the NATO countries.
Taliban reject responsibility
The Taliban, on the other hand, said that the chaos around the airport was not due to their behavior, the radical Islamists said. The western states should have had a better plan for the evacuations.
The spokesman did not mention that the Taliban control exactly who is allowed into the airport and that in the first few days they initially prevented people from leaving the premises. This was one of the reasons for the chaotic scenes on the airport runway.