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By Jonny Hallam and Mick Krever, CNN
The Taliban Wednesday showed dozens of American-made armored vehicles as well as newly seized weapons during the victory celebrations in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
In videos posted on social media, the Taliban parade equipment left behind by Afghan and American forces after the withdrawal of the last American troops, left Afghanistan in the hands of the militant group.
Fighters waved white Taliban flags from Humvees and armored SUVs during the parade, where many vehicles appeared in near perfect condition. The Taliban also staged an aerial demonstration with a recently seized Black Hawk helicopter hovering over militants along the road while dragging a white Taliban flag.
The parade took place the day after in video footage showing activists making their way through an abandoned hangar at Kabul airport littered with equipment left behind by the United States.
In one video, activists dressed in American-style uniforms and holding American-made weapons examined a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter parked in a hangar. Taliban fighters were also seen posing for photos as they sat in the cockpits of planes and helicopters that had belonged to the Afghan Air Force.
But Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday he was not “too concerned about these images” of Taliban fighters examining the abandoned plane.
“They can inspect anything they want,” Kirby said. “They can watch them, they can walk around – but they can’t fly them. They can’t make them work.
He added that the US military had rendered “all the equipment at the airport – all the planes, all the vehicles on the ground unusable”, leaving only a few fire trucks and forklifts operational.
Efforts to reopen Kabul airport resumed on Wednesday as a team of Qatari technical experts arrived in the Afghan capital, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
The source said the tech team traveled to Kabul in a Qatari jet at the request of the Taliban, and that although no final agreement has yet been reached, “talks are still ongoing. in terms of security and operations “.
“The goal is to resume flights to and from Kabul for humanitarian aid and freedom of movement in a safe and secure manner.”
Afghanistan is heavily dependent on foreign aid, and the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have already struggled to get essential food and medical supplies to the country. airport as part of the mass evacuation operation.
Even before the political upheavals of recent weeks, Afghanistan was the world’s third largest humanitarian concern, with more than 18 million people in need of assistance, according to UNICEF. But with no commercial aircraft currently cleared to land in Kabul, it will be difficult to get help.
The resumption of commercial flights will also be crucial for those still wishing to leave the country but who have not been able to board military evacuation planes.
More than 123,000 people have been evacuated by US and coalition planes since August 14, US Central Command General Frank McKenzie said on Monday.
The-CNN-Wire
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