Rescue mission in Afghanistan: completion by the end of August “mathematically impossible”

Those in need of protection are to be flown out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible, but the EU foreign policy chief Borrell does not believe that the rescue mission will end anytime soon. There is still chaos around the airport in Kabul, and there are said to have been deaths.

For days after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the NATO countries have been trying to get their own citizens and local Afghan workers out of the country as quickly as possible. However, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell does not believe that these evacuation missions will be completed too quickly.

Above all, Borrell had serious doubts about the US goal of flying all vulnerable people out of Afghanistan by the end of the month. In an interview with the AFP news agency, he emphasized:

The Americans want to fly 60,000 people out by the end of the month. That is mathematically impossible.

Criticism of control system that is too strict

Borrell criticized the control and security measures of the US military at Kabul airport that were too strict from the EU’s point of view. This makes access to the site even more difficult for people who are to be flown out. The EU has already asked the US to show a little more “flexibility” here.

According to Borrell, an end to the US evacuation operation by the end of the month would also be problematic for another reason: “If the Americans withdraw on August 31, the Europeans will not have the military capacity to occupy and secure the military airport, and neither will the Taliban will take control. ”

USA: Support from commercial airlines?

According to a report by the Reuters news agency, the US is considering using aircraft from commercial American airlines as part of its rescue mission. The US government is said to have warned airlines accordingly. Should it come to that, the planes should not head for Afghanistan, but locations in the Middle East and Germany. From there, people rescued from Afghanistan could be brought to the USA on board the aircraft.

Report of deaths at the airport

Rescuing vulnerable people from Kabul is currently made more difficult by the chaotic conditions around the airport in the Afghan capital. With temperatures of more than 30 degrees, thousands of people wait in front of the airport. CNN TV channel spoke of around 14,000 people hoping to get onto the airport grounds to catch one of the evacuation flights. Eyewitnesses report shooting by security forces in the air or the use of tear gas. Taliban are also said to beat people with whips.

According to a report by British broadcaster Sky News, chaos broke out in the midst of these crowds on Saturday. A correspondent for the station, Stuart Ramsay, is currently in Kabul. According to him, several people are said to have died. Soldiers had covered corpses with white sheets. However, there is no official confirmation for this so far.

Embassies warn citizens

The Foreign Office and the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr, Eberhard Zorn, announced that access to the airport was often not possible due to the dangerous situation. Gates would be closed again and again. The Afghan civil aviation authority made it clear that there would be no more civil and commercial flights.

In view of the confusing situation, both the German and US embassies called on their citizens not to come to the airport. “At the moment it is generally safer to stay at home or in a sheltered place,” wrote the German embassy.

So far more than 2000 people have been flown out by the Bundeswehr

Despite the difficult situation, the evacuations would continue, said the Foreign Office. Other Bundeswehr machines that are supposed to bring people from Kabul to Tashkent in Uzbekistan are in use. Since the radical Islamic Taliban came to power almost a week ago, the Bundeswehr has reportedly flown more than 2,130 people from Kabul.

After the first two evacuation flights were only able to bring 15 people to Tashkent on Saturday due to the chaotic conditions, a plane with 205 people in need of protection started in Kabul in the afternoon. The next plane in the evening took off with just 20 people. The situation in Kabul continues to be difficult, according to the Bundeswehr.

Bundeswehr relocates helicopters to Kabul

To support the rescue operation, the Bundeswehr has meanwhile relocated two helicopters to Kabul in order to have more options for evacuations. According to the Ministry of Defense, the agile helicopters are ready for use. It is planned to use it in Kabul to “take in smaller groups to be evacuated in the urban area and transport them safely to the airport,” said the Bundeswehr. At first there was no information about specific missions. According to Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the helicopters can only be used in coordination with the Americans and the other partner countries.