WASHINGTON: Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers said on Tuesday all foreign evacuations from the country must be completed by Aug 31, and the White House said US President Joe Biden is aiming to stick to the date due to the mounting threat of militant attacks.
But Biden has left open the chance of the deadline being extended, the White House said, and has asked the Pentagon and the US State Department to develop contingency plans should that prove necessary.
Biden spoke on Tuesday with leaders of the G7 major industrialised nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, telling them that completing evacuations by Aug 31 is dependent on continued cooperation with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport in Kabul.
Biden also told G7 counterparts that each day on the ground in Afghanistan brings added risk to US troops from an attack by Islamic State militants, according to the White House.
The developments follow what two US officials said was a meeting between CIA Director William Burns and Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday to discuss the chaos in Afghanistan after the Taliban's unexpectedly swift takeover.
Biden, who said last week troops might stay past Aug 31 to evacuate Americans, will follow a Pentagon recommendation to remove the troops by that date as long as the Taliban enables the US to complete its evacuations, three US officials said.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was growing concern about suicide bombings by Islamic State at the airport, which has been overwhelmed by Afghans and foreign citizens rushing to leave, fearing Taliban reprisals.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvYmlkZW4tYWltcy1hdWctMzEtYWZnaGFuaXN0YW4tcHVsbG91dC1yaXNrLWF0dGFja3MtcmlzZXMtMjEzMjI4MdIBAA?oc=5
2021-08-24 21:47:45Z
52781790291094
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar