Two US officials said today, Saturday, that the United States evacuated 2,500 Americans from Kabul during the past week, while the Emir of Qatar received a call from the US President to discuss the latest developments, and the Taliban stated that they are currently protecting foreign forces at Kabul Airport.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the situation around Kabul airport was changing by the hour and that the Pentagon's current task was to secure the airport, while trying to complete the evacuation from Afghanistan in a safe manner.

He added that the assessment of the risks in Afghanistan also changes every hour, and that he does not rule out the entry of US forces into the vicinity of Kabul Airport to assist in the evacuation process.

He said he did not have a "precise figure" on how many Americans were still in Kabul and Afghanistan in general.

As for William Taylor, Deputy Director of Regional Operations in the US Staff, he indicated that there are planes traveling between Qatar and Germany to secure evacuations from Afghanistan.

Taylor added in a press briefing at the headquarters of the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) that since the start of this operation, nearly 17,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan, including 2,500 Americans.

Regarding the current US presence, Taylor said that about 5,800 US troops are on the ground in Afghanistan, and that 1,000 troops have been deployed in Afghanistan since August 14.


Gates closed and Americans warned

Taylor stated that some gates at Kabul airport have been closed in the past 24 hours to allow evacuations to be completed.

He said that the Pentagon is not aware of information about gangs that practiced some kind of violence at Kabul airport.

Simultaneously, the United States urged its citizens in Afghanistan not to go to Kabul airport on Saturday, as thousands sought to flee the country nearly a week after the Taliban took control of the country.

This warning - which was posted on the website of the US embassy in Afghanistan and posted on Twitter by the State Department in Washington - did not provide any details about the nature of the threat.

"Due to potential security threats outside the gates of Kabul Airport, we advise American citizens not to go to the airport and to avoid the airport gates at this time unless they have received personal instructions to do so from a representative of the US government," the statement issued by the US embassy said.

A Taliban official told Reuters that the chaos around Kabul airport was not the responsibility of the Taliban.

"The West could have had a better evacuation plan," he added.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Switzerland had postponed a charter flight from Kabul due to the chaos.

"The security situation around Kabul airport has deteriorated significantly during the past hours. There are a large number of people in front of the airport, and sometimes violent confrontations impede access to the airport in Kabul," the ministry added in a statement.

For his part, the European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner said it was impossible to complete the evacuation of Afghans through Kabul airport before the end of this month.


Taliban: We protect foreign forces

Reuters news agency quoted a Taliban official as saying that the movement is protecting thousands of foreign forces stationed at Kabul airport.

The official indicated that the movement aims to improve the situation at the airport and provide a smooth exit during the coming hours.

He stressed that opening a corridor for departures to get out of Kabul is necessary for law and order, and that it cannot be ruled out that there are security risks at Kabul Airport, where thousands gather daily in the hope of leaving the country.

The Taliban official revealed ongoing talks with former senior employees about reopening the banks.

He said that the movement is making progress in forming an Afghan government and ensuring security across the country since its takeover of the capital, Kabul.


NATO acknowledges slow evacuation

A NATO official acknowledged the slow process of evacuating foreign nationals and Afghans wishing to leave the country, and attributed this to the fact that the alliance does not want any form of confrontation with Taliban militants or civilians outside the airport.

The NATO official told Reuters that about 12,000 foreigners and Afghans working for embassies and international aid groups have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.

Officials in NATO and the Taliban have announced that at least 12 people have died in and around the airport since last Sunday.

Crowds continue in front of the airport

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that large crowds gathered today, Saturday, in the vicinity of Kabul Airport, amid chaos and intermittent shooting.

Thousands of Afghans wishing to leave their country continue to wait for the fifth consecutive day in front of the gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital, Kabul, in the hope of bypassing barriers backed by barbed wire and entering the airport to leave the country, after the Taliban took control of the reins of power.

Foreign forces responsible for airport security allow entry only to those who possess a passport and visa.

Children and infants are the most affected by waiting in very difficult conditions, amid lack of food and water, with many insisting on staying in the place until entering the airport and evacuating them to any other country.

asylum in Uzbekistan

In the same context, the Russian TASS news agency quoted an informed source - whom it did not disclose - today, Saturday, as saying that Uzbekistan has received about 400 additional refugees from Afghanistan in a temporary shelter near the Afghan border.

It is not yet clear how many Afghans crossed the border into Uzbekistan, one of the countries of the former Soviet Union, with the Taliban in control of Afghanistan, but the Tashkent government denied that among the refugees were prominent Afghan figures such as Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum.

The TASS news agency quoted the source as saying that about 650 Afghan soldiers from units led by Dostum are in the same shelter, which is a medical facility.

Uzbekistan said on Friday it had repatriated 150 Afghan refugees as part of an agreement with the Taliban and after requests from the refugees themselves.

Canadian show

In this context, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday that his country is considering accepting additional Afghan refugees on behalf of the United States or other allies if requested to do so.

"We must keep the door open to all possibilities," Mendicino added in an interview.

"If there are Afghans who assisted coalition partners during the mission and also met the criteria for our humanitarian resettlement programme, then I think we should be prepared to consider such an arrangement," he said.

Canada withdrew the bulk of its forces from Afghanistan in 2011, but took part in a NATO mission to train the Afghan army until 2014.

Country role

The Amiri Diwan in Qatar announced that the Emir of the country, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had received a phone call from US President Joe Biden.

The Amiri Diwan stated that during the call, they discussed developments in the region, especially the latest developments in Afghanistan.

The two sides stressed the need to protect civilians, the peaceful transfer of power and the easing of tension in order to reach a comprehensive political solution to ensure security and stability for the benefit of the Afghan people.

The US President expressed his thanks to the Emir of Qatar for the State of Qatar's contribution to the evacuation of civilians.