Afghanistan: airlift continues, another 400 to Rome
Afghanistan, Borrell: "We have failed, stop EU development funds and help the people"
Afghanistan, Ghani: if I had stayed I would have been executed
Afghanistan, Pajhwok agency: "Taliban shoot protesters in Jalalabad"
Fear in Kabul.
Afghanistan is in the hands of the Taliban: "We have changed, no revenge"
Afghanistan.
The symbolic photo: hundreds fleeing from Kabul piled into the US plane
Kabul surrenders to the Taliban: "We will proclaim an Islamic Emirate".
Thousands on the run
The fall of Kabul
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August 19, 2021 The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan takes on more dramatic proportions from day to day as chancelleries around the world work to mitigate the chaos that reigns in the country. Taliban checkpoints prevent Afghans from reaching Kabul airport. US soldiers control the airport, but all the roads leading to it are under the control of the Taliban.
While the US Congress wants to investigate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Biden defends himself: there was no way to do it "without chaos ensuing".
EU High Representative Borrell
he says it was a "catastrophe" and argues with Biden, calling his claim that state building was never a goal "questionable". "We cannot let China and Russia take control of the situation," he added.
Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio spoke by telephone with Secretary of State Blinken to take stock of the situation, in view of the G7 summit of foreign ministers scheduled for today.
Afghanistan: gunshots and throng in protest in Asadabad, victims
Several people were killed after the Taliban opened fire in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, on the crowd waving the national flag at an Independence Day rally. This was reported by a witness, quoted by Reuters, in the aftermath of the killing of three people in a similar protest in Jalalabad.
It is unclear whether the victims in Asadabad were due to the gunshots from Taliban militiamen or the crush they caused.
Protests with demonstrators waving the national flag, in some cases after snatching the white flag of the Taliban, are the first signs of popular opposition to the rise to power of the Koranic students.
"Hundreds of people went out onto the streets", Reuters witness Mohammed Salim reported from Asadabad, "several people were killed and injured in the throng and shooting by the Taliban". There have also been similar protests in Jalalabad and Paktia district, according to local media reports without reporting incidents.
On August 19, Afghanistan celebrates its 1919 independence from British control. Yesterday, the Taliban opened fire on demonstrators waving the flag in Jalalabad, killing three people. Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who is trying to set up an opposition to the Taliban, has expressed support for the demonstrators with the national flag.
The airlift
The flight from Kabul continues.
This morning an Air Force C130 took off from Kabul and evacuated 99 Afghan citizens. During the night another C130 aircraft had taken off from Kabul with 95 people on board. All will be transported with the KC767s to Italy where the next flight will arrive in the next few hours.
Today two more C130Js will take off from Kuwait for Kabul and a KC 767 will land at Fiumicino with 200 Afghans evacuated yesterday from the Afghan capital on board.
12 dead at the airport in the crowd since Sunday
12 people have died at Kabul airport since Sunday, when the airport was stormed by Afghans and foreigners terrified of the Taliban's entry into the capital. Both the Taliban and NATO sources reported this to Skynews. Thousands of people are still trying to flee Afghanistan via Hamid Karzai airport, but the Taliban continue to appeal to Afghans to return to their homes.
Children over the barbed wire
Children beyond the barbed wire In the meantime, new confirmations are arriving of the drama of the situation that Kabul is experiencing in these hours. "It was horrible, the women threw their babies over the barbed wire" at the airport "asking the soldiers to pick them up," said Skynews a senior Afghan official. "Some children got entangled in the barbed wire".
"Italy is working on an extraordinary G20 summit"
Italy, the current president of the G20, is working on the possibility of calling an extraordinary meeting of the leaders of the 20 great powers on Afghanistan. This is confirmed by sources of Palazzo Chigi, specifying that it is still premature to talk about dates. However, the summit could be held as early as September, before the summit of G20 leaders on the agenda for 30 and 31 October.
Two days ago, the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, indicated the G20 as the natural forum for the dialogue on the future of Afghanistan: "the future for Italy is made up of defending fundamental rights, defending the rights of women, for the protection of all those who have exposed themselves in recent years in the defense of these rights in Afghanistan - said Draghi - this must be pursued in all possible contexts. Certainly, states such as China, Russia will enter this great work of world collaboration. , Saudi Arabia, Turkey - added the premier - and all these states are members of the G20. So the G20 naturally offers a place where you can start this work of collaboration ". "This year as the G20 presidency we are fully committed to preparing,in building, an appropriate venue for this collaboration, "said Draghi.
Biden: "There was no way to avoid chaos"
In the first TV interview, on ABC, after what happened the American president continues to defend his choice, even if for the first time he admits: "There was no way to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan without chaos ensuing ".
EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden tells @GStephanopoulos that US troops will stay until all Americans are out of Afghanistan, even if past Aug 31 deadline.
https://t.co/iEDJSzuSLI pic.twitter.com/mby6KHQ5ms
- ABC News (@ABC) August 19, 2021
IMF suspends funds, too much uncertainty
The International Monetary Fund suspends funds for the Asian country in the hands of the Taliban, even the UN evacuates its staff. Part will go to Kazakhstan in order to continue helping the Afghan population. Meanwhile, members of the US congress are calling for an investigation into the withdrawal of troops. Biden defends himself: there was no way to do it "without chaos ensuing".
Pentagon chief: no hostile action by the Taliban
"No hostile action by the Taliban so far": Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a briefing with reporters, assuring that the line of communication with the Taliban "remains open". The Taliban are not interfering with US evacuation operations in Kabul: Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley said, The US "is working with the Taliban" to ensure safe access for Americans to Kabul airport, he said. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said, adding that the US now does not have the ability to extend the airport perimeter or to pick up large numbers of Americans outside the airport. - There are about 4,500 US troops in Kabul to defend the evacuations and so far "there have been no hostile interactions with the Taliban "concluded Lloyd Austin.
Draghi-Johnson telephone conversation
"As part of the ongoing international contacts on the crisis in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson. During the interview, the possible initiatives of the respective Presidencies of the G7 and of the G20 in favor of the stability of Afghanistan and in defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country. The conversation also allowed an exchange of views on the perspectives in the context of the G20 and CoP 26 regarding the fight against climate change " . This is what we learn from a note from Palazzo Chigi. Tomorrow at 2.30 pm, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will be connected by the foreign ministry
will participate in the G7 Ministerial meeting, held in virtual format, on Afghanistan.
Ghani's declaration from the Emirates
Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani released a statement on Wednesday evening: "I am in the Emirates, I will be back soon, consultations are underway for my return." Allegations that he would leave the country taking tens of millions of dollars with him are "baseless", Ghani said in a video message to the nation after confirming his arrival in the Emirates, assuring that he left the country "empty-handed. ". "I was forced to leave Afghanistan" was the only way to avoid bloodshed and that "Kabul would become a new Yemen or a new Syria" added according to al-AJazeera reports. He added that he left the country because he was forced by his safety, leaving his property and "confidential documents ".
"In favor of talks between Karzai and the Taliban"
Afghan president in exile, Ashraf Ghani, said he was in favor of the ongoing talks between the Taliban and former president Hamid Karzai and other Kabul officials. Ghani spoke yesterday from the United Arab Emirates, where he fled during the advance of Islamic extremists on Kabul. Ashraf Ghani, who left the Afghan presidency on Sunday with the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul, is therefore in the United Arab Emirates as previously reported by CNN which had received confirmation with a note from the Emirati Foreign Ministry. The ministry specifies that "the Emirates have welcomed Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country for humanitarian reasons". The Afghan embassy in Tajikistan had forwarded the request to Interpol this morning for the arrest of President Ashraf Ghani, who fled after theentry of the Taliban into Kabul, Hamdallah Moheb and Fazl Mahmoud Fazli. The accusation is embezzlement of public funds, writes Tolonews. Ashraf Ghani, according to the ambassador of Afghanistan in Tajikistan, quoted by Dushanbe by various international media including the BBC, would have left the country taking with him the equivalent of 169 million dollars stolen from the state coffers. The diplomat accused Ghani of having carried out an act of "betrayal of the fatherland".equivalent of 169 million dollars stolen from the state coffers. The diplomat accused Ghani of having carried out an act of "betrayal of the fatherland".equivalent of 169 million dollars stolen from the state coffers. The diplomat accused Ghani of having carried out an act of "betrayal of the fatherland".
EU: "Risk of increased migratory pressure"
The instability in Afghanistan will probably lead to increased migratory pressure, so we are preparing for all scenarios. "This was stated by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, during the meeting on video conference yesterday of the EU interior ministers, stressing that "we should not wait for people to arrive at the EU's external borders: this is not the solution". According to the commissioner, "we should prevent people from heading towards the EU through unsafe, irregular and uncontrolled routes managed by traffickers ".