As of: 08/21/2021 4:38 p.m.
1,800 people have now arrived at the US air force base in Ramstein on rescue flights from Afghanistan. They should be prepared there for their onward flight to the USA.
After the first flights on Friday evening, numerous other people from Afghanistan have arrived at the US Air Force Base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. In total – as of 3:45 p.m. – around 1,800 people said the US base to the SWR according to. They came with 15 machines, and more flights are expected in the following days.
US Air Force Base Ramstein is to become the hub for rescue flights
Jakob Schaumann, HR, daily news 5:00 p.m., August 21, 2021
A spokeswoman said people would be housed in hangars and tents and given medical care. In Ramstein they should wait for their “continuation” to the USA. But that could take a few days. The first two C-17 transport machines landed in Ramstein on Friday evening with around 300 people on board. In the air base, US citizens and local staff from Afghanistan are to be prepared for their onward flight to the USA.
Capacity for 5000 people
Ramstein is the most important military transport and cargo airport for the US armed forces in Europe. On Friday, Germany and the USA agreed that the base should be used as a hub for evacuations from the Afghan capital in order to relieve the hub in Qatar. The US had to interrupt its rescue flights from Kabul to Qatar for several hours on Friday because capacities there were exhausted.
The top general of the military airport said the airbase could accommodate 5,000 people at the moment. The number of places for people fleeing Afghanistan should be increased. 10,000 places are possible.
According to the spokeswoman, the arrivals will be looked after at the base by US soldiers, their relatives and volunteers. The district of Kaiserslautern also offered support. According to a message from the base on Facebook, those brought to safety should not leave the base.
Saved 13,000 people, according to Biden
In the past few days, the US Army had flown by far the largest proportion of those seeking protection from Kabul. US President Joe Biden said on Friday that around 13,000 people have been saved since the mission started about a week ago.
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.