Mychael Schnell
The HillSun, 15 Aug 2021 10:04 UTC
© Sudhir Chaudhary/TwitterKabul Airport
hours after the U.S. started pulling staff from the consulate amid the Taliban's takeover of the capital city. State Department spokesperson Ned Price wrote in a statement:
"We can confirm that the safe evacuation of all Embassy personnel is now complete. All Embassy personnel are located on the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the U.S. Military,"
The news comes after the U.S. started evacuating personnel from the embassy Sunday morning, after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, which drove Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to leave the country.
He later wrote in a statement on Facebook that he fled to avoid confrontations in Kabul that could have led to more bloodshed.
The American flag was lowered from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul earlier on Sunday, marking the final step in the evacuation of personnel from the consulate.
Comment: This is insanity in motion...as all hell breaks loose:
Mass evacuation from
Kabul airport validates decision to increase of US troops to support those leaving the city:
As Kabul international airport was plunged into chaos, becoming the only way out of the country for thousands of Afghans desperate to escape Taliban rule, the US announced it would be taking over air traffic control at the airport to speed up the evacuation of Americans as well as allied Afghans.
"Over the next 48 hours, we will have expanded our security presence to nearly 6,000 troops, with a mission focused solely on facilitating these efforts and will be taking over air traffic control."
The backup troops will be used to streamline the evacuation of "thousands" of Americans that have resided in Afghanistan, local US embassy employees, as well as "other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals."
"Thousands of Afghans" that qualify for special immigrant visas will also be evacuated. All those who have passed security checks will be flown directly to the US, while others will be moved to "additional locations" where they can wait to be cleared.
Panicked residents, fearing repercussions under Taliban rule, clogged city streets with cars in a last-minute attempt to reach the airport. Footage circulating online shows large groups of people flocking to the airport's entrance as shots rang out in the background. The gunfire reportedly led to the suspension of all commercial flights, leaving it up to military planes to evacuate stranded residents. Armored trucks were spotted on the tarmac, cruising through the crowds, as US servicemen were seen establishing a security сordon around the airport.
See also:
Comment: This is insanity in motion...as all hell breaks loose:
Mass evacuation from Kabul airport validates decision to increase of US troops to support those leaving the city: See also: