Taliban agree to allow 'safe passage' to civilians: White House
The Taliban have agreed to allow "safe passage" from Afghanistan for civilians struggling to join a US-directed airlift from the capital, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday. However, a timetable for completing the evacuation of the Americans, Afghan allies, and others has yet to be worked out with the country's new rulers.
Some civilians were turned away, pushed back and even beaten
Sullivan acknowledged reports that some civilians were encountering resistance "being turned away or pushed back or even beaten" as they tried to reach the Kabul international airport. But he said "very large numbers" were reaching the airport and the problem of others was being taken up with the Taliban, whose takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday plunged the US evacuation effort into chaos and violence.
Over 6,000 US troops expected to help with evacuations
Pentagon officials said that after interruptions on Monday, the airlift was back on track and being accelerated despite weather problems, amid regular communication with the Taliban leaders. Additional US troops arrived and more were on the way, with a total of more than 6,000 expected to be involved in securing the airport in coming days.
US commanders were speaking with Taliban about avoiding conflict
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby disclosed that US commanders were speaking with Taliban commanders "multiple times a day" about avoiding conflict at the airport. This suggested that the new rulers of Afghanistan plan not to disrupt the evacuation.
Want the evacuation to be completed by August 31: Biden
Kirby would not discuss details of the Taliban arrangement, and Sullivan said the question of how much time the Taliban will give the evacuation was still being negotiated. Biden has said he wants the evacuation completed by August 31. Sullivan declined to say whether that deadline would hold. Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, made an unannounced visit to Kabul on Tuesday.
McKenzie on Sunday negotiated the safe passage agreement with Taliban
McKenzie said he found that military air traffic controllers and ground handlers were rapidly scaling up airlift operations. McKenzie on Sunday negotiated the safe passage agreement with Taliban leaders in talks held in Doha, Qatar. "I cautioned them against interference in our evacuation, and made it clear that any attack would be met with overwhelming force in defense of our forces," McKenzie said.
'Aim to ramp up to one evacuation flight per hour'
"Overnight at the airport, nine Air Force C-17 transport planes arrived, and seven C-17s took off with 700-800 civilian evacuees," Army Major Gen. William Taylor said. "The goal is to ramp up to one evacuation flight per hour by Wednesday," Kirby and Taylor said.
