US President Joe Biden announced tonight that his country is making progress in the ongoing evacuations from Afghanistan, and confirmed that the Taliban is cooperating in securing the capital's airport, Kabul.
Biden said in a speech at the White House after a meeting with his advisers that the number of evacuees from Afghanistan reached 33 thousand people.
He added that his administration's priority is to get the Americans out of Afghanistan as soon as possible, expressing his hope that it will not have to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, which ends on August 31.
He added that transit centers outside Afghanistan provide safe locations for America to complete security checks for evacuees.
On the situation at Kabul Airport, Biden said that the US side had held talks with the Taliban, stressing that they are cooperating in extending the area of the safe zone around the airport.
He also said that the Taliban movement did not take any action against the US forces, and that it has abided by what it has pledged so far.
fluctuating situation
Earlier on Sunday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that his country has so far evacuated 30,000 Americans and Afghans from Afghanistan.
Blinken added - in statements to "Fox News" - that the situation in Kabul is very volatile, pointing to large crowds of people near the airport, and that his country is addressing the issue of crowds outside the airport at the present time.
In turn, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that his country's military will make sure that Kabul airport remains safe and will defend it.
Austin added - in an interview with the American network "ABC" - that any possible way to deliver the Americans to the airport will be considered.
As for National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, he said that during the past 24 hours, 3,900 people were evacuated on US military planes, up from 1,600 the day before.
However, the number of evacuees during the past 24 hours is less than Washington's target of between 5,000 and 9,000 per day, and the United States is seeking to evacuate between 10,000 and 15,000 Americans and up to 65,000 Afghans.
For his part, the British ambassador to Afghanistan said that his country had evacuated 5,000 people in the last 24 hours.
Several countries - such as Turkey, India and Ukraine - are also carrying out similar evacuations, but in much smaller numbers.
And about the situation in the vicinity of Kabul Airport, the network "CNN" (CNN) that about 20 thousand people of Afghans and foreign nationals were crowded Sunday in and around the airport.
The American network said that the situation worsened after the closure of a number of airport gates, noting that in the midst of the chaos prevailing at the airport, family members were separated from each other and sent on planes to other countries.
On Saturday, 7 people were killed in a new stampede at Kabul airport, bringing the number of people killed in similar circumstances within a week to 20.
This one is for the Qatari government who have been incredible helping those who rescue the #Ka fear for their livesbul.
Credit where credit is due @MofaQatar_EN pic.twitter.com/CIORGuB2JJ
— Ian Pannell (@IanPannell) August 22, 2021
Qatar's participation in the evacuation
In addition to other countries, the State of Qatar is directly involved in the evacuation operations that were launched after the Taliban took control of Kabul.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Haitham Abu Saleh said that a Qatari plane arrived on Sunday at Al-Udeid base, carrying 110 evacuees from the Afghan capital.
The reporter added that this plane is the third to arrive in Qatar from Afghanistan.
He also pointed out that Doha had announced that its evacuation operations would continue, and that Qatari planes had evacuated within 72 hours more than 500 people - including 200 media professionals - from Afghanistan.
Al-Jazeera correspondent explained that the French Press Agency quoted a Qatari official that his country had facilitated the evacuation of nationals from the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries.
In this context, ABC correspondent Lan Bannell published a tweet praising Qatar's efforts in the ongoing evacuations, and attached to the tweet a photo of an Afghan girl who was among the civilians evacuated by Qatari planes.
Taliban reinforcements
Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted a source in the Taliban as saying that the movement on Sunday assigned a battalion of its special forces to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport and its surroundings in Kabul.
The Taliban security official at the airport, Mullah Fateh, said he expected it to open to civilian shipping within a week.
And Mullah Fateh added - in a statement to Al Jazeera - that the Americans are the ones who prevent people from entering the airport.
And the French Press Agency quoted Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaki as saying that "America with all its might and facilities failed to bring order to the airport. Peace and calm prevails throughout the country, but there is only chaos at Kabul airport."
As for Reuters, it quoted an official in the Taliban as saying that the movement is seeking to obtain a clear plan for the exit of foreign forces from the country.
He added that dealing with the chaos outside Kabul Airport is a complex task.