The Taliban block Afghans’ access to Kabul’s airport, reject any delay of US withdrawal
By Sharif Hassan, Megan Specia and Daniel Victor
KABUL – The Taliban said on Tuesday (24) they would block Afghans trying to leave the country from travelling to Kabul’s airport and would reject any plans to extend the deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of this month.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, noted that chaos at the airport remained a dangerous problem, and said the way to it was being closed to Afghan citizens to prevent people from joining the crowds.
“The road that ends at the Kabul airport has been blocked. Foreigners can go through it, but Afghans are not allowed to take the road,” Mujahid said, without clarifying how long that policy would be in effect.
He urged the crowds of Afghans thronging the airport in hopes of leaving the country to instead go home, saying that the Taliban would “guarantee their security”, and noted that there was no list of people targeted for reprisals.
But witnesses have previously described a Taliban crackdown on those who protest against the group. The Taliban is also actively seeking out Afghans who worked alongside US and NATO forces.
Mujahid also called on the United States “to not encourage Afghan people to flee their country,” adding, “This country needs our doctors, engineers and those who are educated — we need these talents.”
The group had warned on Monday (23) that there would be “consequences” if the US presence continued longer.
President Joe Biden’s deadline for the US evacuation of its citizens and allies in Afghanistan — Aug. 31 — is one week away. The operation could enter a dangerous new phase as time runs out to rescue people whom the administration has pledged to protect from violent Taliban reprisals.
The effort has picked up speed in recent days as US forces pushed past Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to rescue stranded people in the city, evacuating thousands. But chaotic and deadly scenes have also played out as crowds of Afghans eager to leave the country have converged on the airport.
As leaders debate their strategies, conditions on the ground are growing more dangerous.
People trying to flee Afghanistan must brave Taliban checkpoints and jostle with desperate crowds, risking injury or death. Seven Afghan civilians, including a toddler, have been trampled to death in the crowds outside the airport, according to British military officials.
Other Afghans who supported the two-decade U.S. war effort, particularly women, are terrified to leave their homes, scared of incurring the Taliban’s wrath at checkpoints.
The Taliban and US officials have taken steps to ensure that the situation does not spiral further out of control. The top US official in Afghanistan talks with the Taliban nearly every day, US military officials have said, leading to an agreement that expanded the security perimeter outside the airport, with the goal of bringing more order to the chaos.
The Pentagon has deployed helicopters and troops into select spots in Kabul to extract stranded US citizens and Afghan allies, at least twice venturing from the immediate area of the airport.
The US military has helped secure the evacuation of 58,000 people since Aug. 14, when Kabul fell to the Taliban, and has increased the pace recently. About 21,600 people were evacuated in the past 24 hours, military officials said Tuesday.
The Biden administration has been unable to pinpoint how many people are in need of evacuation.
-New York Times