After the rebels took control of the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday (August 15), the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan ended, while European countries and the European Union scrambled to evacuate their citizens and local staff from Kabul, keeping the airport open as NATO said .
After the government admitted that it was preparing for a “transfer of power,” hardline Islamists were on the verge of complete victory in Afghanistan.
When Islamic militants entered the city on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, and hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded the Kabul airport.
“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and jihadists. For 20 years, they have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and sacrifices,” Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban political office, told Al Jazeera.
“Thank God, the war in this country is over.”
Naim said that the type and form of the new Afghan regime will soon be clarified, adding that the Taliban do not want to live in isolation and call for peaceful international relations.
“We have reached the goal we sought, namely the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,” he said. “We will not allow anyone to use our land against anyone, and we do not want to harm others.”
In a Facebook post, Ghani said that he left the country to avoid conflict with the Taliban, which would endanger millions of residents of Kabul.
He didn’t say where he was, he didn’t know where he was going, and he didn’t know how power will shift after the Taliban’s lightning sweep of Afghanistan.
Al Jazeera earlier showed what it said were footage of the Taliban commander in the presidential palace and dozens of armed fighters.
Some local social media users in Kabul called Ghani cowards because they got them into chaos. A tweet from the verified account of the Afghan Embassy in India said: “We are all knocking our heads in shame.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that after consulting with a series of member states, the alliance “is helping to keep the Kabul airport open to facilitate and coordinate evacuation.”
The European Union desperately tried to find possible retaliation solutions for Afghan workers from its representative offices and tried to persuade its 27 member states to provide them with visas.
An EU spokesperson said: “This matter is extremely urgent. We take it very seriously and continue to work with EU member states to implement quick solutions for them and ensure their safety.”
Countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands transfer diplomats from the Kabul embassy to the airport before evacuation
“We will not risk our people falling into the hands of the Taliban,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild daily.
The French ambassador to Afghanistan posted a video on Twitter showing him leaving the Green Zone in Kabul by helicopter. Paris hopes to set up a temporary mission at the airport.
Other NATO member states including the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Spain have also announced that they are evacuating their embassies.
‘Extraordinary effort’
The French Presidential Palace stated that it will “do its best to ensure” the safety of French nationals and Afghan staff who are still in the country.
It said in a statement that evacuation activities involving hundreds of people began in April.
The statement said: “France is one of the few countries that maintains capabilities…protects Afghans who work for the French army, as well as journalists, human rights activists, artists and Afghan figures who are particularly threatened.”
Paris vowed to make “extraordinary efforts” to welcome Afghans who are threatened by human rights work. The government said on Friday that more than 600 Afghans working in French organizations in the country have arrived in France with their families.
Russia stated that it does not think it is necessary to withdraw from its embassy for the time being. Turkey stated that its embassy will continue to operate.
The UK is deploying approximately 600 soldiers to help evacuate its approximately 3,000 nationals from the country, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that a “large number” of embassy staff remaining in Kabul will return to the UK.
He will hold new crisis negotiations on Wednesday and recall Parliament during the summer vacation to discuss what the UK should do next after losing 457 soldiers in the two-year war.
The Italian Ministry of Defense stated that the first military aircraft will arrive on Sunday and begin an “emergency evacuation” operation.
The ministers of the Nordic countries said on Friday that Denmark and Norway said they would temporarily close the Kabul embassy, while Finland would evacuate up to 130 local Afghan workers.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anlind also pointed out that the country’s evacuees will include Afghan interpreters and other local staff.
At the same time, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that the Dutch embassy in Kabul was evacuated overnight and was working in a temporary office near the airport.
The Netherlands said on Friday that it will receive Afghan interpreters and some other embassy staff.
At Kabul Airport, hundreds of Afghans were waiting for the flight, some dragged their luggage across the runway in the dark, while women and children slept near the safe corridor.
A source at the airport said that due to the stoppage of flights, some scuffles broke out among people who could not find their seats.
Local TV station 1TV reported that after dark, the capital heard multiple explosions, but during the day on Sunday, the city was basically quiet.
The emergency rescue organization said that 80 wounded people have been sent to the hospital in Kabul, which is fully operational and only admits those who are in danger of life.
The United States “failed”?
In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden’s decision to end the longest war waged by the United States after September 11, 2001, stated that the chaos was caused by the failure of the leadership.
U.S. diplomats fly by helicopter from the embassy in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district to the airport because the Afghan army, which has been trained for many years and equipped by the United States and other countries at a cost of billions of dollars, is gradually disappearing.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said earlier on Monday that almost all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Rose Wilson, were at the airport, and the American flag had been lowered and removed from the embassy compound.
When asked if the image of the helicopter transporting people is reminiscent of the U.S. leaving Vietnam in 1975, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken told ABC News: “Let’s take a step back. This is obviously not Saigon.”
Biden has faced increasing domestic criticism after sticking to a plan initiated by his predecessor, Donald Trump, to end US military missions in Afghanistan by August 31.
In a statement on Sunday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell accused Biden of what he called “a shameful failure of American leadership.”
McConnell said: “Terrorists and major competitors like China are looking at the embarrassment of a superpower.”
Naim said that the Taliban will adopt a policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries in exchange for non-interference in Afghanistan.
“We don’t think foreign troops will repeat their failure in Afghanistan again.”
This #Taliban Not only confiscated the contract. Kunduz Airport has one hundred American Hummers and (MaxxPro) MRAPs, as well as several American ScanEagle drones.
As the government hurriedly withdrew its troops without reaching a peace agreement or follow-up tasks, billions of American taxpayers’ money went to Islamic extremists. pic.twitter.com/Fb5MTpdLKK— Julian Röpcke (@JulianRoepcke) August 12, 2021
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Many Afghans are worried that the Taliban will go back to the harsh practices of implementing Sharia or Islamic religious laws in the past. During the reign from 1996 to 2001, women were unable to work and were punished by stoning, whipping, and hanging.
The militants tried to show a more gentle face, promising to respect women’s rights and protect foreigners and Afghans.
“We are ready to have a dialogue with all Afghans and will ensure that they receive the necessary protection,” Naim told Al Jazeera Mubaser.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Taliban and other parties to exercise maximum restraint and expressed special concern for the future of women and girls in Afghanistan.
