In the face of Taliban advance, UK warns Afghanistan is on the way to civil war

Like the United States, the The UK has announced that it will send troops to Kabul to help evacuate its diplomats, soldiers and citizens and the thousands of Afghans who worked with them, in the face of the Taliban’s advance towards the capital..

Boris Johnson’s government has informed that he will send 600 soldiers, and the Minister of Defense, Ben wallace, assured that the country was move your embassy from outside the green zone to a potentially safer location and closer to the center of the capital, according to British media The Guardian.

In addition, the official warned that Afghanistan “is on the way to civil war”, and recalled the history of the country, which for many years was a territory without a state organization, “led by leaders. military, different provinces and tribes, and you find yourself, if not you are very careful, in a civil war ”.

Some 200 British diplomats and soldiers are evacuatedbut the exact figures have not been released. The UK also hopes to evacuate around 4,000 Afghans. While other Western governments are also speeding up evacuation plans for their embassy staff amid fears about the Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan.

For its part, The United States has announced that it will send three battalions (approximately 3,000 troops) to Kabul International Airport within the next 24 to 48 hours.. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, John kirby, said the reinforcements would help the “Safe and Orderly Reduction” of US and Afghan Nationals who Worked with Americans and that, therefore, they had received special immigrant visas.

“We are monitoring the security situation on the ground very closely and with concern, and it is far better to be careful and responsible and watch trends to make the best possible decisions for the safety of our people than to wait until it is too lateKirby said, according to The Guardian.

Senior US officials met with the President of Afghanistan on Thursday, Achraf Ghani, and they informed him that the North American country “continues to bet on the security and stability of Afghanistan” in the face of Taliban violence, according to the State Department.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed Ghani that the United States is reducing its civilian presence in Kabul given “the evolving security situation”. and that it would increase the pace of flights with special immigration visas for Afghans helping Americans, the statement said.

Criticism of the British Secretary of Defense in the United States

Ben Wallace denounced the Americans’ decision to leave Afghanistan and called it a “mistake” which gave “impetus” to the Taliban.

In statements to Sky News, warned that “The international community will probably pay the consequences” and that it fears that Al-Qaeda will recover a base in Afghanistan.

Wallace said the withdrawal agreement negotiated in Doha (Qatar) by the Trump administration was a “Rotten business” which the UK tried to resist, adding that his country had no choice but to withdraw the troops, because the international community had to act together. “When the United States made this decision, the way we were all organized meant we had to go,” he said.

“At the time of Trump’s deal with the Taliban, of course, it seemed like a mistake to do so. Everyone in the international community will likely pay the consequences. “, he stated.

“I think the agreement that was reached in Doha was a rotten affair. Indeed, told a Taliban he didn’t win he won, and he undermined the government of Afghanistan and now we’re in this position where the Taliban clearly has momentum across the country“He added.

The Taliban offensive produced some 250,000 displaced people, 80% of them women and children

The Taliban offensive in Afghanistan, which rapidly seizes all of the country’s urban centers, has caused at least some 250,000 displaced since its creation in May, and 80% of them are women and children, warned the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday.

This exodus adds to the 150,000 who have already had to leave their homes between January and May, bringing the total number of displaced people in this Central Asian country to 3.3 millionAccording to figures provided at a press conference by the UNHCR spokesperson, Shabia Mantou.

“The number of victims in the unstoppable hostilities is immense”, pointed out Mantoo, who warned that Afghanistan “is on course to suffer the worst annual number of civilian deaths in conflict since UN records”.

As the fighting escalates in 33 of the 34 Afghan provinces, at a time when the Taliban have already taken control of the country’s second city, Kandahar, and threaten Kabul, the spokesperson recalled that UN “calls for a permanent ceasefire and a negotiated solution for the good of the Afghan people”.

Mantoo detailed that Most of those displaced by the conflict have avoided leaving Afghanistan and “stay as close to home as possible”Although some 120,000 people who fled rural areas and provinces have sought refuge in and around Kabul.

Despite this pattern of movements, UNHCR on Friday asked neighboring countries to keep your borders open to potential refugees.

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