200 foreigners departing from Kabul, the first after the US withdrawal

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09 September 2021

About 200 foreign nationals, including some Americans, will leave Kabul by plane on the first trip since the US withdrawal and the takeover of the Taliban, says a source in Doha. "Not all 200 are American citizens. There are American citizens among the group traveling from Kabul to Doha." Kabul airport is "fully operational" and "working" said Qatari envoy Mutlaq al Qahtani.

Meanwhile, new protests have taken place, despite the ban on demonstrations sanctioned yesterday by the Taliban, who ordered the population to stay at home. The BBC reports. Protesters took to the streets in different parts of the country, dozens also gathered near the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, where the Taliban opened fire in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Other demonstrations took place in the provinces of Parwan and Nimruz.

In conjunction with the protests this morning, the internet connection was interrupted in several areas of Kabul, the BBC always reports, citing local media. Afghan journalist Bilal Sawary reported on Twitter that various sources in the telecommunications sector confirmed to him that the Taliban had ordered a temporary blocking of the cellular connection in various districts of the capital.

The interim government of the Taliban "does not respect the expectations" of the European Union, since it does not respect "the benchmarks of incisiveness and representation of diversity. We await the formation of a more stable executive" in Afghanistan "and on the basis" of how it will be formed "We will decide if it is possible to engage" in dialogue, the spokesman of the European External Action Service, Peter Stano, reiterated today. 

No Italian flights from Kabul are planned at the moment. This was underlined by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Marina Sereni, in a press meeting at the Farnesina, at the end of the first meeting of the Coordination Table on Afghanistan with civil society organizations, in which, among other things, she specified that "we have no Italians to evacuate". Diplomacy "is working" to welcome Afghans, "trying to understand" in particular whether humanitarian evacuations can be organized for displaced people from neighboring countries. "If there are security conditions we will use them," he noted. It is difficult to say how many people could be evacuated: "There are some lists that we are also checking to avoid infiltrations. But it will be a number smaller than the previous 5 thousand.We are talking about hundreds of people ". Also on this, also in view of the G20," we work for the maximum possible involvement of the international community ".

Among the priorities indicated by the Table, the possibility for university students to arrive in Italy, providing ad hoc humanitarian corridors. The MIUR is working to increase scholarships and coordination between Italian universities is being built (an electronic mailbox will be created at the competent directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accommodate the availabilities) in order to optimize interventions. The migration theme was at the center of today's meeting. Among the interventions that are intended to start, the verification of possible humanitarian corridors, in particular for vulnerable categories (women and children), is in the foreground. On these, Sereni said that the Farnesina is already working with the Interior Ministry but "it still takes time". To support this type of migration,European Fami funds will also be extended to Afghans, a nationality not foreseen at this time. The deputy minister also confirmed that "work is underway" to establish the Italian embassy in Doha: "it is a decision taken", in line with the decision also by the EU, and "it is not linked to humanitarian activities on the ground".

New crackdown on dissent in Afghanistan. The Taliban have announced a ban on all kinds of demonstrations across the country, stating that such protests "disturb normal life, harass people" and create security problems. 

According to a statement by the Taliban Interior Ministry, Sirajuddin Haqqani, "it is not allowed to hold any type of demonstration" without authorization from the Ministry of Justice, "to be requested at least 24 hours in advance", communicating all the details. 

"Unless all formalities are fulfilled, no one is authorized to hold any demonstrations," reads the statement. 

Since the takeover of power by Islamic fundamentalists in Kabul,

, especially on the part of women, to demand equal rights and to be able to continue working. 

Whips and sticks against women took to the streets to protest against the all-male government announced yesterday by the Koranic students. The Taliban thus tried to suppress the demonstration of women, who protested today for the third consecutive day, according to some videos received by CNN. "Long live women in Afghanistan", the slogan chanted by the protesters, as they raise signs that read "No government can deny the presence of women" and images of the pregnant policewoman killed by the Taliban a few days ago. 

Journalists and cameramen who followed the demonstrations were also targeted by the Koranic students: the editor of the Etilaatroz newspaper, Zaki Daryabi, reported that 5 of his reporters were stopped and two were beaten, with dozens of lashes on the head and face. The reporters were later released.