US to send troops to Afghanistan to evacuate embassy staff in Kabul ahead of Taliban advance

The Pentagon has announced that it will deploy around 3,000 troops to Kabul to evacuate diplomatic staff from its embassy in the Afghan capital., while the Taliban continue their offensive in the Asian country where they have already seized power in 11 cities.

“The first movement will be composed of three infantry battalions which are currently under the responsibility of the central command of the zone.. They will be heading to Hamid Karzai International Airport in the next 24 to 48 hours, ”State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

For its part, the UK will temporarily deploy some 600 military personnel to Afghanistan to help UK citizens leave the countrys, plagued by the advance of the Taliban, the government announced Thursday.

“I authorized the deployment of additional military personnel to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, help British citizens leave the country and support the relocation of former Afghan servicemen who put their lives in danger working alongside us,” Defense Minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.

“We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

“This President puts the safety of Americans serving abroad first“Price said of Joe Biden, who ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years.

Price said the embassy would remain open at its current location and “continue to perform priority functions,” but did not deny reports that work could be transferred to Hamid Karzai International Airport.

In addition, he said Washington would start sending daily flights to evacuate interpreters and others who have helped the United States and who fear for their lives due to the advancing Taliban.

In addition, U.S. officials on Thursday urged U.S. citizens to immediately leave Afghanistan using available commercial flight options, according to a notice published Thursday on the website of the diplomatic mission in Kabul, amid the rapid advance of the Taliban through the Asian nation.

While, Taliban fighters captured the strategic Afghan town of Herat on Thursday, the third largest city in Afghanistan.

The announcement left the Taliban within 150 kilometers of Kabul, in the most recent victory of his campaign to take control of Afghan territory after the departure of American troops, which left the local government to try to curb the radical Islamist movement on its own.

“The US Embassy urges US citizens to immediately leave Afghanistan using available commercial flight options,” the mission notice says, warning its citizens of the difficulties it faces in exercising its authority and capabilities in an increasingly hostile territory.

“Given the security conditions and the reduction in staff, the embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited.even inside Kabul, ”he explained.

On April 27, the United States ordered government employees to leave their embassy in Kabul if they could do their jobs elsewhere, citing the increase in violence in the city.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said earlier this week that the official position of the embassy had not changed., by answering questions about the likelihood of an evacuation of the diplomatic headquarters.

However, he added that Washington is assessing the risk scenario for embassy staff on a day-to-day basis.

The clashes come at a terrible cost to the civilian population. In one month, at least 183 civilians, including children, have been killed in Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat (west) and Kunduz, and nearly 360,000 people have fled their homes since early 2021, according to the UN.

Many civilians have arrived in Kabul in recent days, where, still traumatized by the atrocities committed by the Taliban before their eyes, they are trying to survive in refugee camps.

International troops will complete their departure from Afghanistan later this month, twenty years after the start of its intervention to expel the Taliban from power, after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

US officials have made no secret in recent days of their frustration with the weakness of the Afghan army, which the United States has built up, financed and equipped for years.

Former President Donald Trump, whose administration negotiated the withdrawal agreement with the Taliban in 2020, blamed his successor Joe Biden for the “unacceptable” rise of the insurgents.

(With information from Reuters and AFP)

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