"They are not in charge of any of the gates. They are not in charge of any of the airport operations. That is still under US military control," Kirby said.
The United States expects some ongoing engagement with the Taliban will be necessary after the withdrawal to facilitate further evacuations, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
"The reality is, the Taliban control large swathes of Afghanistan, including the areas surrounding the perimeter of the airport," she told reporters. "So by necessity, that is our option."
SINGLE SUICIDE BOMBER
Islamic State (ISIS), an enemy of the Islamist Taliban as well as the West, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which the Pentagon said on Friday was carried out by one suicide bomber at an airport gate, not two as it earlier stated.
The number of Afghans killed has risen to 79, a hospital official told Reuters on Friday, adding that more than 120 were wounded. A Taliban official said the dead included 28 Taliban members, although a spokesman later denied any such fighters had been killed.
The attack underlined the realpolitik facing Western powers in Afghanistan: Engaging with Taliban forces who they have long fought may be their best chance to prevent the country becoming a breeding ground for Islamist militancy.
The United Nations Security Council condemned the bombing as "especially abhorrent" for targeting civilians trying to flee the country.
Biden said on Thursday he has ordered the Pentagon to plan how to strike ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate that claimed responsibility. Asked on Friday if Biden sought to capture and put on trial those responsible, Psaki said "I think he made it clear yesterday that he does not want them to live on the earth anymore."
Biden was already facing strong criticism at home and abroad for the chaos surrounding the troop withdrawal and evacuations. As the Taliban rapidly advanced to Kabul amid the pullout, Afghanistan's Western-backed government and military collapsed. Biden has defended his decisions, saying the United States long ago achieved its rationale for invading the country in 2001.
The US-led invasion toppled the then-ruling Taliban, punishing them for harbouring al Qaeda militants who masterminded the Sep 11 attacks on the United States that year.
Most of the more than 20 allied countries involved in airlifting Afghans and their own citizens out of Kabul said they had completed evacuations by Friday.
The Taliban said that Afghans with valid documents would be able to travel freely in future at any time - comments aimed at calming fears that the movement planned harsh restrictions.
Taliban guards blocked access to the airport on Friday, witnesses said. "We had a flight but the situation is very tough and the roads are blocked," said one man on an approach road.
Medical supplies will run out within days in Afghanistan, the World Health Organization said, adding that it hopes to establish an air bridge into the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the help of Pakistan.
Pakistani officials told Reuters that at the Torkham border crossing, Pakistani security forces had opened fire on a group of people trying to illegally enter Pakistan, adding that two Afghans were killed and two wounded.
Up to half a million Afghans could flee their homeland by year-end, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said, appealing to all neighbouring countries to keep their borders open.
There are also growing worries Afghans will face a humanitarian emergency with the coronavirus spreading and shortages of food and medical supplies looming.
The Taliban have asked all women healthcare workers to return to work, a spokesman said, as trained and educated Afghans flee the country.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvdXMtYWxlcnQtZnVydGhlci1rYWJ1bC1hdHRhY2tzLXJhY2UtY29tcGxldGUtZXZhY3VhdGlvbnMtMjEzOTE2MdIBAA?oc=5
2021-08-28 00:40:30Z
52781790291094
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar