- A Qatar Airways flight is preparing to evacuate about 200 passengers from Kabul.
- This includes U.S. citizens.
- This will be the first flight since the airlift of more than 120,000 people on August 30.
Approximately 200 passengers, including American citizens, will leave Kabul Airport on Thursday, the first flight carrying foreigners out of the Afghan capital since the end of the U.S.-led evacuation operation on August 30.
Less than a month after the Taliban marched into Kabul and expelled former President Ashraf Ghani, the Taliban strengthened their control of Afghanistan and flew to Doha.
On Thursday afternoon, a Qatar Airways flight was preparing to transport about 200 people from Kabul Airport-the first time since the U.S. withdrawal caused a large and chaotic airlift of more than 120,000 people to come to an end.
In the days after the Taliban Blitz, the airport has become a tragic symbol of the despair of Afghans who are afraid of militants returning to power-thousands of people are crowded at the airport gate every day, and some even cling to the plane during takeoff .
More than 100 people were killed, including 13 American soldiers, In the suicide attack on August 26 It is close to the airport claimed by the local branch of the Islamic State Group.
The footage aired by Al Jazeera on Thursday showed families including women, children and the elderly carrying suitcases at the airport waiting for their turn to leave.
It is not clear whether any countries-except Qatar-played a role in organizing airlifts.
In recent years, Qatar has acted as a central intermediary between the Taliban and the international community. After the Taliban took over, many countries, including the United States, have moved their embassies from Kabul to Doha.
“We are very grateful to the Qatari people,” a man told the channel and gave his Canadian citizenship.
According to an AFP reporter, far from the airport, there are clearly more powerful Taliban on the streets of Kabul. Armed fighters-including special forces in military uniforms-stand guard on street corners and at manned checkpoints.
Qatar’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Mutlaq al-Qahtani, called this a “historic day” for the airport.
He also said that this marked “an important step on the road to reopening the airport to international flights, but this may be gradual.”
Most of the early Afghan evacuees were afraid of escaping from the Taliban’s retaliation for cooperating with foreign forces during the 20-year US-led occupation.
After the airlift last month, the United States has repeatedly promised to continue its efforts to evacuate any American citizens still in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that only about 100 Americans remained in Afghanistan.
“Now there are about 100 people, and we are working hard to get those American citizens who want to leave this country, as well as legal permanent residents and other major partners,” Psaki told MSNBC.
The Taliban said they will not stop anyone who wishes to leave the country, although they have urged skilled Afghans such as doctors and engineers to stay.
Compared with the notorious oppressive rule from 1996 to 2001, the Islamic hardliners promised a more moderate rule. However, they have shown clear signs that they will not tolerate opposition.
Earlier this week, Taliban militants dispersed hundreds of protesters to cities across Afghanistan, including Kabul, Faizabad in the northeast and Herat in the west. Two people were shot dead.
Later on Wednesday, they took action to curb any further civil unrest, saying that the protests require prior authorization from the Ministry of Justice and adding that no demonstrations are allowed “for the time being”.
A protest organizer told AFP that the rally in Kabul had been cancelled due to an all-night ban.
An interim Taliban government that came entirely from loyalists officially began work this week. All key positions are hardliners and no women-despite previous promises to establish an inclusive government for all Afghans.
All the top positions were given to the main leaders of the movement, especially the Haqqani network, the most violent Taliban faction known for its destructive attacks.
The intimidating Ministry of Virtue Promotion and Crime Prevention-previously responsible for arresting and punishing those who failed to implement the movement’s restrictive interpretations of Sharia-is recovering.
On Thursday, the Australian cricket team said it would cancel its historic first test match against Afghanistan unless the Taliban lifted the reported ban on women’s participation in sports.
