NATO vows to redouble efforts to evacuate personnel, allies from Afghanistan

NATO has pledged to redouble efforts to evacuate personnel and allies from Afghanistan, says a coalition official, as thousands of people are still attempting to board flights in a chaotic and dangerous situation at the Kabul airport in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the capital.

An unnamed NATO official told Reuters on Friday that more than 18,000 people had been flown out of the capital since Kabul’s sudden fall to the Taliban on Sunday. Since the weekend, the US-led military alliance had continuously sent aircraft to Kabul and the other areas of Afghanistan to support the evacuation efforts, the official claimed.

But the daily mayhem at the airport has stoked criticism that NATO and US President Joe Biden’s administration are slow in trying to get Americans and their allies out of the country.

Though Kabul has been largely calm, the chaos in and around the airport has left at least 12 people dead since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said.

Several killed amid stampede, firing by Taliban during rally in Afghanistan

Several people are reportedly killed in Afghanistan

Biden’s decision to pull US forces out of Afghanistan has faced much backlash, including from the US’s allies, who say the messy withdrawal — which came after 20 years of war and occupation — has significantly aggravated the situation in the country.

The US president, who keeps defending the pullout decision, said on Wednesday that if needed, US forces would be staying in Afghanistan beyond his August 31 deadline for a full withdrawal to pull out all US citizens.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said following a Tuesday meeting of the coalition members that several more countries had committed to sending aircraft to the region to help build the air bridge that would transport personnel and allied Afghans out of the country.

“NATO’s focus right now is to ensure the safe departure of personnel from allied and partner countries, and all of the Afghans who have helped us,” he said.

Stoltenberg said approximately 800 NATO civilians were in place at Hamid Karzai International Airport, assisting with air traffic control, refueling, and communications.

Meanwhile, several people said they had received confusing signals from Washington about how exactly they were supposed to leave Afghanistan. They said they had received emails from the State Department urging them to go the airport, but there had been no one to receive them or to answer their questions on how to board flights.

“We arrived [at the airport] at 6 a.m.,” said a dual US-Afghan citizen who came with his family after receiving an email invitation from the State Department. “The gate did not open, and there is no person to address our concerns.”

UN agency urges neighbors to keep borders open

The chaotic situation has prompted calls from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for an “urgent and wider international humanitarian response.”

“The vast majority of Afghans are not able to leave the country through regular channels,” said UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo. “As of today, those who may be in danger have no clear way out,” she added, urging neighboring countries to keep their borders open for them.

She described the situation in Afghanistan as an “evolving crisis.”

Pentagon: Evacuations past August 31 would require approval from Taliban

The US military has conceded that continuing evacuations out of Kabul after August 31 would need tacit approval from the Taliban.

14 million Afghans facing risk of acute hunger

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) also warned on Friday that one-third of Afghanistan’s population, equaling 14 million people, were at risk of severe or acute hunger, citing the combined effects of war and drought.

“2021 is an extraordinarily difficult year for Afghanistan,” WFP representative and country director Mary-Ellen McGroarty told AFP from Kabul on Friday. “We are in a dire situation, the latest analysis indicates that 14 million people are already at risk of severe or acute hunger.”

Warning of a “horrendous humanitarian crisis unfolding,” she said that two million children were at risk of malnutrition. McGroarty said Afghanistan was facing its second severe drought in three years, on top of the fighting and displacement of people.

The UN’s food-assistance arm was negotiating to gain “unimpeded humanitarian access” in Afghanistan, she said.

“In some of the areas where there are new authorities, the Taliban, we have resumed operations, but we need to be doing much, much more, we need to get out there,” McGroarty added.

The WFP, with 480 staff across the country, hopes to reach nine million people in Afghanistan by the end of the year.

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