US boosts Afghan evacuation with commercial flights | Reporters in the world - News of the week

To promote the evacuation of citizens and foreigners from Afghanistan, Washington has ordered six major commercial airlines to bring those flown from Kabul to US bases in the Gulf and Europe to the United States.

Overcrowding at those bases has resulted in delays and even the suspension of flights from Kabul. The US military has already evacuated about 30,300 people since the Taliban entered Kabul and took control of Afghanistan on August 15, after a swift defeat of government forces.

Hence, US President Joe Biden suggested that the evacuation could be extended beyond the August 31 deadline, depending on the progress of operations.

Biden broached the issue after the Taliban strongly criticized the evacuation. “The United States with all its might and resources … failed to bring order to the airport,” said Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaki. “Peace and calm prevails throughout the country, but chaos is only at Kabul airport,” he added.

At least eight dead

The Taliban, famous for their strict interpretation of Islamic law when they ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, promised a softer version of this new administration. But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, confounding the US-led operation at Kabul airport, where tragic scenes in which at least eight people were killed were recorded.

Also read: Afghan guard killed in shooting at Kabul airport

Seven people were killed in the chaos near Kabul airport

The Taliban victory ended two decades of war, after benefiting from the decision of former US President Donald Trump, implemented by his successor Joe Biden, to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan.

Forced to send thousands of troops to oversee the evacuations, Biden insisted he was looking to end the US military presence in Afghanistan by August 31. But he came under pressure to extend the deadline, after the European Union and the United Kingdom indicated that it would be impossible to expel everyone on that date.

So Biden commented Sunday that talks are underway to discuss such an extension, although he would prefer not: “There are talks going on between us and the military about an extension,” the US president said. “We hope we will not have to expand, but there are discussions,” he said, referring to the possibility of consulting the Taliban.

Biden acknowledged the horrific photos at the airport that include babies and children being handed to soldiers among barbed wire and men hanging from planes as they take off, but he said they were part of the cost of the recall. “There is no way to evacuate so many people without pain and loss and without heartbreaking images,” he said.

Taliban request

So far, the Taliban have managed to impose some calm on the capital’s streets, with their armed forces patrolling the streets and watching from checkpoints. They also sought to impose an image of their authority, by replacing the three colors of Afghanistan with the white flag of the movement.

On the Kabul road, young people were selling Taliban flags, which bore black text with the declaration of the Islamic religion and the regime’s official name: “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”. “Our goal is to raise the flag of the Islamic Emirate throughout Afghanistan,” said salesman Ahmed Shakib, a student at the Faculty of Economics.

resistance outbreak

There was an outbreak of resistance outside Kabul against the Taliban. Some former government soldiers gathered in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, which is known to be an anti-Taliban stronghold. Some anti-Taliban accounts on Twitter said on Sunday that the new regime had sent hundreds of fighters to the valley after “the local authorities refused to hand them over peacefully”.

Also Read: Taliban Fighters Advance To Insurgent Zone In Afghanistan

Amrullah Saleh, the vice president of Afghanistan in the previous government, who took refuge there on Twitter, said the Islamists had “mobilized forces near the entrance to Panjshir”. One of the leaders of the movement in Panjshir, nicknamed the National Resistance Front (FRN), is the son of the well-known anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The movement’s spokesman, Ali Maysam Nazari, told AFP in an interview over the weekend that the National Liberation Front was ready for a “protracted conflict” but also wanted to negotiate with the Taliban for an inclusive government. “The terms of a peaceful agreement with the Taliban are decentralization, a system that guarantees social justice, equality, rights and freedom for all,” Nizari said.

rml (afp, ap)

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

Helicópteros Black Hawk

In videos uploaded to social networks by the Taliban themselves, you can see how some militiamen are touring the Kandahar base, where they have captured at least two Black Hawk helicopters painted in the colors of the Afghan Air Force. While having it is one thing and another to fly it, the truth is that it’s a precious loot: each ship is worth $25 million.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

M249 . light machine gun

Among the combat weapons that the United States has supplied to the Afghan National Army is the M249 light machine gun, a 10-kilogram weapon considered effective by soldiers. It can be mounted on a tripod or on a foldable bipod, or used without them. Among the arsenal that fell into the hands of the Taliban is an unspecified number of these machine guns.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

Humvee

This 2.5-ton multi-purpose vehicle is one of the most widely used in the US Army, and it was also adopted by fellow Afghans, who received about 4000 of them in various versions. Primarily used to patrol troubled areas, today it serves the Taliban. Photos of militiamen roaming the cities in these vehicles have been published.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

Ford Ranger pickup

Ford and Toyota trucks used by Afghan forces in both the army and the national police (painted in dark green) are probably the largest mechanized looting ever to have fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Indispensable for navigating the complex geography of Afghanistan, off-road vehicles are used for patrols as well as for transporting soldiers.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

M16 rifles

By far, the most commonly used combat rifle by Afghan forces was the M16, in its various versions. At least 80,000 of these weapons were in its arsenal, and many are now in the possession of Taliban fighters, who have also been seen with M4 rifles, a more modern version of M16s.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

M113 . armored vehicle

The Afghan army had at least a hundred American M113 armored vehicles, used to transport personnel. Ideal for mobilizing rivers thanks to its amphibious condition, its main use is to mobilize troops on uneven or hard-to-reach terrain. An unknown number of these tanks are now in the hands of Taliban forces.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

All Terrain M1117

Used in Iraq by US forces, the M1117 all-terrain vehicle was generously deployed in Afghanistan, where the regular Afghan forces had at least 350 of them. It has grenade launchers and machine guns in a turret, as well as armor that makes it ideal for patrolling dangerous areas. The Taliban will now know their functions.

These are the American weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban

MaxxPro MRAP

The United States ordered approximately 10,000 of these MaxxPro devices in 2012 for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. These are MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles, that is, resistant to the mines that the Taliban used to put on roads to attack US and Afghan forces. It is not known how many of these vehicles were still in service in Afghanistan.

Author: Diego Zuniga