Nell Salvoni
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the US mission in Afghanistan has ended after twenty years. With thousands of vulnerable Afghans and foreign nationals left behind, the UN calls for the Taliban to allow them safe passage out.
The US has met the 31st August deadline, agreed with the Taliban, to evacuate troops and civilians out of Afghanistan, in what has been the biggest civilian evacuation mission in its history.
“thousands who want to leave have been unable to get onto flights”
Those evacuated include Afghans who are considered at extreme risk under the Taliban regime. Including those who collaborated with the US during its 20-year military presence in the country.
However, thousands who want to leave have been unable to get onto flights in time. Causing the United Nations and others to call on the Taliban to allow them safe passage out.
The End of the Mission
At 15:29 EST, and just before midnight, in the hours leading up to the 31st August in Afghanistan, the US flew its final plane out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Around an hour later, an official statement was made by the Pentagon from the White House in Washington DC, confirming that the mission had ended.
The BBC’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet told the channel that she believed the last flight had taken off before the official announcement was made. Reporting from Kabul, she cited the sound of “celebratory gunfire”, likely from Taliban troops, and the lack of US military aircraft circling above as a sign the US had left.
General Kenneth F. Mackenzie said at the White House press conference; “Tonight’s withdrawal signifies the end to the military component of the evacuation, but also the end to the 20-year long mission.”
“In total, US military and its coalition partners evacuated 123,000 civilians”, he said, breaking that down to over 7,500 per day since 14th August. These numbers do not include the several thousand military personnel evacuated.
General Mackenzie admitted there were people who had been left behind. He argued this would have been the case even if, the evacuation period had been extended.
He went on to say that the military phase of the operation has now ended and that those who are trying to escape will need to rely on avenues secured by diplomatic efforts.
This was reiterated in a later press conference given by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who also confirmed that the US diplomatic mission would be moved out of Afghanistan to Doha.
At the end of the press conference, General Mackenzie paid tribute to all those Americans and Afghans, who had served and been killed during the 20-year conflict.
He finished the press conference; “The last 18 days have been challenging. Americans can be proud of the servicemen and women who met these challenges head-on.”
Terror threats and US airstrikes
A major challenge faced by the coalition forces over the evacuation period has been the terror threat around the airport in Kabul, and the difficulties involved in responding to them with the forces waning presence on the ground and the Taliban in charge of security.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber killed as many as 169 Afghan civilians and two British nationals who were waiting to be evacuated at the gates of Kabul’s airport, as well as 13 US soldiers.
Since then, several targeted strikes have been made by the US against terror groups active in the area.
As US diplomats were flown out on 30th August, US anti-missile technology intercepted 5 missiles directed at the airport. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attempted attack.
Another strike made by the US on a perceived threat on Sunday, however, resulted in a stark human tragedy. 10 civilians, including 9 from the same family, many of which were young children, were killed when a drone exploded a car the US insist was an IS car bomb destined for the gates of the airport.
Al Jazeera English’s Kabul correspondent, Ali M Latifi, spoke to the family and neighbours of those killed in the US drone strike. He told the BBC that they had helped the US forces during their mission in the country and had been awarded special visas by the US, and were awaiting a vehicle to evacuate them from the city.
The UN resolution and the next steps
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution which calls on the Taliban to honour commitments it made publicly on 27th August, to allow Afghans to freely leave the country.
The vote was adopted by 13 votes with Russia and China abstaining, contending that it fails to lay the blame with America for its chaotic withdrawal.
Dame Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, set out the aims of the resolution. Firstly, that “all those who wish to leave Afghanistan can do so safely beyond the date of withdrawal.” Secondly, that “Afghanistan can never again become a safe haven for terrorists.”
The following points in the resolution included ensuring humanitarian workers have “unimpeded access” to the country, as well as the safeguarding of women, children and minorities’ human rights.
“They need us – governments, humanitarians, ordinary citizens – to stay with them and stay the course.”
The resolution falls short of imposing a UN-controlled “safe-zone” around Kabul airport for those wishing to flee, which French President Emmanuel Macron suggested on Sunday might be included.
The key focus for many UN delegates was to emphasise the importance of continuing to help vulnerable Afghans long after the US withdrawal. They highlighted the numerous threats faced by people in the country living under an unstable new regime, during a pandemic, as well as being faced with widespread starvation and drought.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said: “The evacuation effort has undoubtedly saved tens of thousands of lives, and these efforts are praiseworthy.”
“But when the airlift and the media frenzy are over, the overwhelming majority of Afghans, some 39 million, will remain inside Afghanistan. They need us – governments, humanitarians, ordinary citizens – to stay with them and stay the course.”
Featured image courtesy of The U.S. Army via Flickr. Image licence can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Nell Salvoni
Nell is 21 and from Cornwall. She is Empoword’s Current Affairs Editor, a first class University of Warwick History graduate, and has a keen interest in social justice and global news stories.