KABUL: A firefight just outside Kabul’s international airport killed at least one Afghan soldier today (Monday), German officials said, as US President Joe Biden sought to speed up the chaotic evacuation of people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
One Afghan guard was killed and three others were injured in the battle, which also involved US and German forces, the German military said on Twitter, without specifying whether the dead Afghan was one of the Taliban fighters deployed to guard the airport.
This was the latest episode in a chaotic operation overseen by the US army that has seen about 30,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban marched into Kabul on August 15.
The Taliban have repeatedly vowed a softer version this time. However, terrified Afghans continue to try and flee, overwhelming the operation at Kabul airport and leading to tragic scenes in which at least eight people have died.
The Taliban’s victory ended two decades of war as they took advantage of Biden’s decision to withdraw nearly all US troops from the country. Biden has insisted he wants to end the US military presence and the airlifts by August 31.
However, with the European Union and Britain saying it would be impossible to get everyone out by then, Biden is under pressure to extend the deadline.
Speaking at the White House, Biden on Sunday said he hoped the airlift would not be extended, but said talks were underway to explore that possibility. “There’s discussions going among us and the military about extending,” Biden said.
He acknowledged the tragic scenes at the airport, which have also included babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes.
Biden spoke after the Taliban, who have been holding talks with elders and politicians to set up a government, slammed the evacuation. “America, with all its power and facilities has failed to bring order to the airport,” Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.
“There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport,” he added. In the streets of the capital, the Taliban have indeed enforced calm of a kind, with their armed forces patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints.
