Withdrawal by August 31: Taliban issue ultimatum for evacuations

A Taliban spokesman has emphasized that the evacuation mission of western states must be completed by August 31. This is “a red line”. US President Biden, however, wants to extend the mission if necessary.

The Taliban insist that all troops from western countries must leave Afghanistan by August 31. The evacuation mission could not be extended either. That said the spokesman for the Islamists, Suhail Shahin, in Doha. The date is a “red line”. To postpone it would be tantamount to extending the military occupation of his country. There is no reason to do so. He added, “It will create suspicion between us. If they plan to extend the occupation it will generate a response.”

Shahin explained the large number of people at the airport in Kabul with the wish of many people to escape poverty in Afghanistan. Fears of repression by the Taliban are used as a pretext and are unfounded. He described reports of retaliation by Taliban fighters against journalists, former government employees and other alleged collaborators as “fake”. Any incident is neither investigated. Anyone who is guilty will be held accountable.

Biden: Extension is possible

According to his own words, US President Joe Biden hopes to end the deployment of troops to rescue tens of thousands of people from Kabul on August 31. However, he did not rule out an extension of the mission. If allies ask the US government for an extension, “we’ll see what we can do,” said the president. There are also direct talks with the Taliban.

Biden said US forces and their coalition partners have flown nearly 28,000 people out of Kabul since the US evacuation mission began on August 14. Around 11,000 people were recently brought to safety via the airlift within 36 hours. But the president warned: “We still have a long way to go and a lot can go wrong.”

Bad polls

Biden has come under massive criticism because of the events in Afghanistan. In a survey for the broadcaster CBS, 74 percent of those questioned said that the United States had badly organized the withdrawal of its troops – although 63 percent were in favor of a withdrawal of the American armed forces itself. Biden’s approval ratings also decreased significantly: Only 50 percent were satisfied with the way Biden is doing his job. Last month it was 58 percent, in March it was even 62 percent.

US government commits civil airlines to help

The situation at the airport is still chaotic. According to the German Brigadier General Jens Arlt, word got around among the people seeking refuge that some gates to the airport were initially closed for security reasons. But this little sign of slight relaxation is just a snapshot. The German embassy warns against coming to the airport: “At the moment it is generally safer to stay at home or in a sheltered place.” But thousands of Afghans are still trying to get out of the country.

Bundeswehr: so far more than 2500 people flown out

During the evacuation of the German armed forces, another plane with 213 people in need of protection landed on board from Kabul in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Bundeswehr announced this on Monday night on Twitter. The A400M military transporter had brought relief supplies to Kabul Airport on the outbound flight. The Bundeswehr had previously flown out more than 2,500 people since the start of their evacuation campaign. Among them were about 1,850 Afghans, according to the Foreign Office on Sunday evening. In addition, more than 270 Germans and several hundred people from other countries were flown out.

As before, it is important for the western states to fly out as many of their citizens and local employees as possible as quickly as possible. Time is running out, which is why the US Department of Defense has now also asked civil airlines in the US for support. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin activated the first stage of a program in which he applied for 18 aircraft, the Pentagon announced.

Many aid organizations want to stay

However, not all of the 150 international support organizations want to leave the country. Most of them want to stay – of the UN organizations even all of them – with around 300 foreign employees and around 3,000 local staff. Samantha Mort from UNICEF in Kabul said: “The Taliban have already asked us if we would like to stay and we want to. There are more than half a million internally displaced persons in the country. Half of the country needs humanitarian aid. We still need here the support of the international community. “

Taliban want to take over Pandjir

Meanwhile, the Taliban are planning to take over the last Afghan province that is not yet under their control. According to the Russian ambassador in Kabul, they are ready to negotiate with their opponents in Punjir. Ambassador Dmitri Zhirnov said on Russian state television that the Taliban had asked him to deliver a message to the leaders and the people of the Punjir Valley. The Taliban hoped to “find a peaceful solution to the situation, for example through a political agreement. The Taliban do not want bloodshed and are ready for dialogue.” Amrullah Saleh, who was Vice President of Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power and who now sees himself as the rightful president after President Ashraf Ghani’s flight, tweeted on Sunday evening German time that the Taliban had gathered forces near the access to Pandjir.

The province of Punjir could not be conquered by the Taliban during their first rule between 1996 and 2001. In addition to the bitter resistance of the Northern Alliance, this was also due to the geographical location – the entrance to the valley is narrow and easy to defend. While the Islamists have brought all other provinces under their control in recent months, there have been only isolated attacks on Punjir.

With information from Silke Diettrich, ARD Studio New Delhi