US soldiers reach Afghanistan to evacuate American civilians
WASHINGTON, US, (North Press) – On Friday, the US sent the first batch of American support forces to the Afghan capital, Kabul, to help in evacuating American citizens from the country, as part of Washington’s plan to send 3,000 soldiers with the aim of implementing a smooth withdrawal of soldiers and civilians in line with the presence of its forces in Afghanistan.
Despite warnings by US officials that Taliban may take control over Kabul within weeks, the American Axios network quoted White House officials as saying that President Joe Biden intends to implement the final withdrawal and a permanent cessation of hostilities in Afghanistan by August 31.
The cessation of US hostilities includes halting flights to support Afghan government forces, which have been falling against the Taliban’s rapid advance in the country since the announcement of the US withdrawal.
An unspecified number of civilians linked to US will be withdrawn from Afghanistan, including 4,000 employees of the US Embassy in Afghanistan, according to US State Department spokesman, Ned Price.
Price stressed Washington’s intention to keep the embassy in Kabul open despite the planned evacuations.
One of the US scenarios is to obtain a pledge by Taliban not to attack the US embassy in the event they fulfilled a progress in the capital.
At a bilateral meeting next week, Ankara and Washington will make the final decision regarding sending Turkish soldiers to Kabul International Airport, and during the meeting, Turkey will present its conditions to send its soldiers to Kabul, according to Reuters.