Taliban cheer US withdrawal: Victory celebrations, shots of joy and despair

The Taliban celebrate the withdrawal of the last US planes from Afghanistan. For many people in the country, however, the mood is depressing: They stay behind in fear of the new rulers.

It is night in Kabul. Shots of joy and victory celebrations can be heard in the city. Anas Hakkani posts a video on Twitter. He is the brother of Sirajuddin Hakkani, who is allegedly responsible for a few attacks with the greatest number of fatalities in recent years, who is also the Taliban’s deputy head and who is now in power in Afghanistan.

“We made history again,” says Anas Hakkani in the video. “The 20-year occupation of the United States and NATO came to an end that night. I am very happy. After 20 years of jihad and sacrifice, I have the honor to be part of this historic moment. I pray for all martyrs.”

Afghanistan has now achieved full independence, declared the Taliban. The bonfires are said to have lasted for two hours in the middle of the night. People often shoot in the air when there is something to celebrate in Afghanistan: at a wedding, after the birth of a son, after winning a cricket match – and now the triumphant advance of the Taliban.

US military leaves planes behind

After the last US machine left Afghan soil, the Los Angeles Times journalist Nabih Bulos walks with a Taliban special command through a hangar in which several military helicopters are still standing and films with his cell phone: “We are with the Taliban now on the military part of the airport, which was controlled by the US a few minutes ago. Now the Taliban are taking over. “

When they withdrew, the US troops left numerous aircraft and armored vehicles as well as the missile defense system inoperable at Kabul airport. 27 Humvees and 70 armored MRAP vehicles have been made unusable, said the chief of the central command of the US armed forces, General Kenneth McKenzie. The vehicles “will never be used again by anyone”.

The C-RAM missile defense system, which was used to protect the airport from missile attacks, also remained on site. Among other things, the system contributed to repelling the fire with five rockets by the jihadist militia “Islamic State” on Monday morning. “We chose to keep these systems operational until the last minute before the last US plane took off,” said McKenzie. “It is a complex and time-consuming process to dismantle these systems. So we are demilitarizing them so that they are never used again.”

Tens of thousands are left behind

The last US planes with soldiers from the Afghanistan mission took off from Kabul airport shortly before midnight. However, according to the military, not all US citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan were flown out. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were fewer than 200 Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave the country. The USA wanted to continue campaigning for her to leave the country.

Numerous British people are still in the country. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News that it was a “low three-digit” number. “Most of these are difficult cases in which the eligibility is not clear because they have no papers,” said Raab. It is a great challenge to get the people out of the country. Raab emphasized that the Taliban had promised not to hinder the departure of British and Afghan refugees. The British government is now working with Afghanistan’s neighbors on a “workable route” for British nationals to flee.

Thousands of people had tried to get onto the airport premises in the past few days. Videos show dozens of suitcases and other pieces of luggage scattered on the ground in the civilian part of the airfield, which apparently had been left behind in the chaos. Clothing and shoes were also on display. More than 120,000 made it onto the plane. Tens of thousands of people who have worked for German and foreign troops and organizations remain behind.

A video that was recorded in front of the airport goes through the social networks. Several women and children are sitting desperately in a bus, they were not taken. “Dear President, please save us,” says one little girl. And then the desperate words of a woman on the seat in front of it: “President Biden, save our families, save our lives, we are in danger. We have been waiting here for days and no one has let us in. What should we do?”

Taliban want “good diplomatic relations”

Malala, a 20-year-old student, posted a video on Instagram three days ago: “Let’s forget the Taliban for a minute,” she writes next to the video on which she plays the guitar. It is not clear whether she caught a plane at the last moment; Malala has not contacted me for two days. “Music is forbidden in Islam,” one of the Taliban spokesmen had recently said in an interview with the New York Times. He hopes that people will be convinced not to do such things anymore – without the Taliban having to force the Afghans to do so.

On the day after the departure, residents of Kabul speak of an overall calm start to the day. According to this, most of the shops in the Schahr-e Nau district are open, but have hardly any customers. A few banks would have opened their large branches after almost two weeks. Hundreds of people queued to withdraw money. The Taliban can hardly be seen in the streets and only guarded certain buildings.

Taliban spokesman Sabihullah Mujahid announced that Kabul would remain a safe place. “People shouldn’t worry,” he told Al-Jazeera. The Taliban now wanted “good” relations with the US “and the whole world,” he emphasized in a speech at the airport. “We welcome good diplomatic relations with everyone.” However, the US no longer has a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan: According to the US State Department, diplomatic activities have been relocated to the Qatari capital, Doha.