Afghanistan: US and NATO troops leave Bagram air base
American soldiers load a Blackhawk helicopter into a C-17 at the Bagram base, June 16, 2021. AFP - COREY VANDIVER
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All US and NATO troops have left Bagram air base, a US defense official said on Friday, July 2, saying that the withdrawal of all foreign forces present in Afghanistan is imminent.
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"
All the coalition forces have left Bagram,
" said the official, on condition of anonymity, who did not specify the precise moment of the withdrawal from this base, located 50 kilometers north of Kabul.
According to their spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, who spoke to AFP, the Taliban "
are happy and support
" this departure.
Before adding: “
Their complete withdrawal will
allow the Afghans to decide for themselves their future.
"
The Bagram military base was located on the most important airfield in Afghanistan.
It is therefore the end of an American military presence in a strategic location.
Bagram has served as a starting point for military strikes against the Taliban and other Islamist groups since the intervention in Afghanistan
began nearly 20 years ago
.
September 11th
An intervention decided after the attacks against the World Trade Center towers in New York and against the Pentagon
on September 11, 2001
. The 20th anniversary of this event was also chosen as the deadline by Joe Biden for the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The military operation had certainly made it possible to overthrow the Taliban regime, but the latter never stopped fighting American troops and their allies.
Since the beginning of May
, they have led several major offensives inside the country. The date on which the Bagram base will be officially returned to the Afghan army has not been communicated. The ability of government forces to maintain this strategic point is considered critical in preventing the capital Kabul from falling again. Rohullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, reassured, adding that the local authorities were "
fully prepared
" for this restitution.
The Bagram air base was built in the 1950s by the Americans, to serve as a bulwark against the Soviet Union in the north.
For 20 years, hundreds of thousands of American and NATO soldiers, but also their subcontractors, had transformed the base of Bagram into a miniature city.
In particular, there were swimming pools, fast food restaurants, and even cinemas.
► To listen again: American forces will return the Bagram military base to the Afghans
(With
AFP)
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