Away from Kabul: today the extraordinary G7

• Afghanistan.

  Gentiloni: "May the EU welcome even without unanimity"

• Afghanistan, young Afghans to the Daily Telegraph: "Whipped by the Taliban for wearing jeans"

• Afghanistan.

  Evacuations and refugees, Europe is divided.

  Extraordinary G7 tomorrow

• Afghanistan, hundreds of refugees arrive at the Sigonella military base

• Airlift with Afghanistan.

  On the run from Kabul, another 203 Afghans arrived in Fiumicino

• Afghanistan, Massoud: ready for inclusive government with the Taliban

• Afghanistan, Di Maio: dramatic scenario, understanding mistakes made by the West

• Afghanistan, US weapons in the hands of the Taliban

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August 24, 2021

A few hours after the G7 convened by Boris Johnson, chaos and violence reign at Kabul airport.

While world leaders discuss the August 31 deadline - the date by which the withdrawal from Afghanistan must be completed, according to the agreements signed with the Taliban -, thousands of Afghans are prevented from entering the airport for evacuation.

In the past few hours, gunshots have broken out, with hundreds of people massed outside the North Gate of the airport, controlled by American troops.

The summit - scheduled for 3.30 pm and attended by the secretary general of NATO and the UN - should be an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment to protect the achievements in Afghanistan in the last 20 years, from women's education to the rights of women and minorities; to discuss collaboration in evacuation operations from Kabul airport and the long-term policy on Afghanistan to "ensure that any new government is inclusive and complies with international obligations," a Downing Street note read.

A knot to be solved is a possible extension of the timing of the withdrawal of the troops, on this Gb (with France and Germany) and the US are in disagreement, but it seems that Washington's line is winning. It is "unlikely" that it will go beyond the date of August 31, even if London is trying to persuade the Americans to extend the airlift from Kabul beyond that date. This is how the British Defense Minister, Ben Wallace, expressed himself a few hours from the G7. "I think it's unlikely - he told Sky News - Not only for what the Taliban said (there would be" consequences "if foreign forces stayed beyond August 31, ed), but also for President Biden's public statements". 

"It is definitely worth trying all of us - added Wallace - and we will do it". The Pentagon has asked President Biden to decide by today whether or not to extend the deadline to complete the withdrawal. CNN reports this, citing a senior official who is aware of the dossier. The reminder was launched to also plan the withdrawal of the 5,800 American soldiers guarding the Kabul airport, along with their armaments and equipment. Biden's closest advisors would still have advised him not to extend the withdrawal date beyond the already set date of August 31. The reason would be the risk of attacks. The US president will make his communications within the G7 at 6 pm Italian time.

UK, France and Germany: postponement beyond August 31 necessary for evacuations

France considers an "additional postponement" of the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan beyond August 31 to continue the evacuations "necessary". Continue evacuation of civilians from Kabul airport after 31 August. This was claimed by the German Foreign Ministry, Heiko Maas, specifying that the German authorities are talking about it with "the US, Turkey and other partners with the aim of allowing the airport to continue operating civilian operations to take people out" from the country. Downing Street reports that Joe Biden and Boris Johnson have "agreed to ensure that whoever is entitled to leave is able to do so, even after the end of the initial phase of the evacuation ".

"At the moment the only priority of the United States, as regards Afghanistan, is the evacuation of US citizens and Afghan citizens linked to the US diplomatic mission or in a particularly vulnerable situation ". This was stated by the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, during her official visit to Singapore, the first stop on her diplomatic tour in South East Asia, which will take her to Vietnam today.

In the last 24 hours, 10,900 people have been evacuated from Kabul, thanks to 15 US military flights (6,660 passengers) and 34 coalition flights (4,300). This was announced by the White House, recalling that since the end of July the United States has transferred about 53,000 people, of which 48,000 since August 14, the date of entry of the Taliban to Kabul.

US Air Forces are currently deploying over 230 aircraft on the giant airlift underway from Kabul Airport. Evacuation flights are expected to "increase significantly" in the next few hours in order to meet the August 31 deadline. This was reported by Pentagon sources cited by the Defense One website. There will be a "significant increase in the number of transport aircraft going there and in the volume and pace" of their operations, the source said.

"With regard to the 'Operation Allies Refuge' operation led by the United States Department of State, the Aviano Base (Pordenone) is ready to support, through the US military structures in Italy, the transit of people departing from Afghanistan to more permanent resettlement locations in the United States and third countries ". The 31 / o Fighter Wing of the Aviano base made it known in a note. "This is a constantly evolving situation - it is specified - and while there are no scheduled flights to Aviano at the moment, we remain ready to support. We are grateful to our Italian partners for their vital collaboration in this effort".

From what has been learned, the people who will be hosted in Aviano will spend the entire period of quarantine for Covid inside the base, probably inside specific tensile structures. The operations will be coordinated by the US military, which will provide swabs and medical examinations. The Western Friuli Health Authority will only deal with any emergency hospital admissions that cannot be managed by the health facilities of the Base.

Justin Trudeau said he was in favor of sanctions against the Taliban on the eve of the G7 over Afghanistan. Asked whether he will support Britain's position that it could ask for sanctions, the Canadian premier replied: "Of course, we are on the verge of examining other sanctions." "The Taliban are already recognized as a terrorist entity in Canada, but we will speak with our G7 counterparts to see what the next steps are," he explained.

Ahead of the virtual meeting of G7 leaders, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, spoke about developments in Afghanistan with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "It is important to complete the evacuation of EU citizens, local staff and families - writes Michel on Twitter. The rights of Afghans, especially women and girls, will remain our main concern: all the tools of 'EU to support them must be used ".

"The EU must work on the reception and legal immigration quotas of Afghan refugees and must also do so by removing the alibi of unanimity in decisions". EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said this at the Cl meeting. "I respect unanimity, but I know that there will never be and there will always be someone opposed to reception policies and legal immigration quotas. No excuses if you want to help refugees and reception. It can also be done by majority vote. . Orban and others will disagree but it is part of our rules, "he concludes.

"In Afghanistan another epilogue was possible. It is a debacle of the West. We cannot turn it into an abjuration in what we have done in the last 20 years: it would be an even more serious mistake",said the EU commissioner.

Slovenia, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has convened a special summit for Thursday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The summit, a spokesman said, will discuss the "response of the EU to current developments in Afghanistan, including with regard to the internal affairs aspect, including the possible impact of migration, cooperation for migrants and assistance to the main neighboring countries and security issues ". The summit will be held at the level of ambassadors. The spokesman also said that a meeting at Minister of Interior and Justice level could soon be held to address the issue of immigration.

Spain has agreed to temporarily host 4,000 Afghans who worked for the United States in two military bases in the southern part of the country. The agreement between US President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez allows Afghans to stay in the Iberian country for up to two weeks.