Afghan Air Force kills 13 government fighters in friendly fire incident

Washington announces $266 million in aid to Afghanistan

Afghan vendors display masks on a street in the capital, Kabul.

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The United States has announced an additional $266 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, primarily for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country continues.

"As the United States withdraws its forces from Afghanistan, our commitment is clear," said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

"We remain determined to support the peaceful and stable future that Afghans demand and deserve by using all our diplomatic, economic and aid means."

These funds will be intended to provide protective equipment, shelters, health care and hygiene, as well as the protection of the most vulnerable groups, especially women and girls.

With this money (266 million dollars), including 157 million dollars released by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and 109 million dollars by the State Department, the value of humanitarian aid from the United States to Afghanistan increases to more than 543 million dollars, within the framework of 2021 budget.

The US administration has not taken a decision yet on the evacuation of Afghan interpreters, who cooperated with the US military, and fear for their lives after the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.

Twenty bipartisan members of Congress demanded yesterday in an open letter to President Joe Biden that more than 18,000 translators and their families who have applied for immigrant visas to the United States be "immediately" evacuated.

"Each request takes more than 800 days to complete," they said in the letter, while "we expect to withdraw in less than 100 days."

They added that no US institution "has the ability or authority to protect them in Afghanistan after our withdrawal," considering that "it would be immoral to hold the Afghan government responsible for protecting our Afghan partners."

In response to a question about this, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the White House has not yet ordered the US military to evacuate these Afghans.

In Kabul, Afghan officials said yesterday that at least 13 fighters loyal to the government, including a prominent commander, were killed by the Afghan Air Force in the northern province of Badakhshan, in a friendly fire incident.

Provincial council member Ahmad Javed Magadidi and parliament member Zabihullah Atiq said several others were injured in the accident, which occurred in the province's Kohistan district, on Friday evening.

Atiq, who represents the province in parliament, said that the pro-government forces led by Commander Ashur were returning to their base after an operation against Taliban militants, when the planes attacked them "by mistake."

He added that one of the injured breathed his last from his wounds at a later time, and that another injured person is still in a critical condition.

And the day before yesterday, there were conflicting numbers regarding civilian casualties, during a government air raid on the "Taliban" in Nahr al-Siraj district in Helmand province in the south of the country.

However, a member of the Provincial Council, Ataullah Afghan, said that they were unarmed fighters affiliated with the "Taliban", and they wanted to destroy and loot the fallen military checkpoints.

On the other hand, an Afghan security official, who requested anonymity, said yesterday that at least eight members of the security forces, including a police chief for two districts of Baghlan province in the north of the country, were killed in an attack by the Taliban on the Golja district of the province. , the night before last, according to the Afghan TV channel, Tolo News.

On the other hand, officials said yesterday that Taliban militants have captured another district in Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan.

A member of the regional council, Saeedullah Nuristani, said that government forces abandoned the Doab district, located in the region, after 20 days of resistance.

According to Nuristani, militants blocked all supply routes to the district, prompting government forces to evacuate the district.

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