Despite assurances from coalition troops that Westerners would be permitted admission to evacuation flights, the terrorists are now barring Westerners from traveling to Kabul airport, per reports released Wednesday morning.
As per the Wall Street Journal, commercial flights being arranged to sidestep the Biden government’s evacuation are encountering increasing impediments. Meanwhile, contracted planes intended to evacuate Americans and their supporters besieged in Kabul are flying out of Kabul with scores of seats available.
Taliban Says Only Westerners May Leave – That’s Not the Case
According to the Daily Mail, the insurgents enacted a law on Tuesday, stating that only outsiders will be allowed to reach the airport for departure. Locals were told to return home by a spokesman for the organization. To prevent Afghans from fleeing the city, roadways have been shut.
Around 600 #Afghan Commandos at #HKIA helping US Mil with security of the airport in #Kabul will be all evacuated by #evacuation mission end. Thank you @PentagonPresSec for making that clear. These commandos fought enemy terrorists bravely. The Ghanis betrayed them. #Afganistan pic.twitter.com/a6rMB4gmSn
— Rafi Rafi (@Rafi_usa) August 24, 2021
According to the Mail, based on a Politico article, the roadblocks are capturing not only Afghans, but also American people, slowing rescue efforts. People have had to be redirected on the fly by those managing evacuations.
According to the Wall Street Journal, new Taliban roadblocks on the road to Pakistan have made traveling out of the nation more dangerous. Countless people have been unable to leave Afghanistan, due to unclear procedural obstacles.
Time must be given to fly out the U.S. and allied forces guarding the airport independently; therefore, Washington Post editorial staff observed Wednesday that the massive airlift presently underway may only have three or four days remaining. Indeed, some forces have already begun to depart.
Azerbaijani peacekeepers safely evacuating French citizens from #Kabul airport #Afganistan https://t.co/7sZj73owRu
— Elin Suleymanov (@ElinSuleymanov) August 18, 2021
Blockades have been Set!
Elsewhere, the militants set up a new blockage of the airfield route in Kabul, according to the Post, to discourage more Afghans from fleeing.
The Washington Post columnist noted that if Biden is against this, he didn’t even say so in his statement. In summary, Biden has agreed to a set of criteria that appears to make keeping his evacuation commitments far more problematic.
🏳️ The special forces unit "Badri 313" of #Taliban has been redeployed to the area of the #Kabul international airport to "restore order."#Afganistan pic.twitter.com/2PPXhkIQUn
— GLOBAL NEWS NEXUS (@globalnwsnexus) August 23, 2021
The Carter Center’s Resolving Conflicts Initiative told the Wall Street Journal that it’s a mix of sad, absurd, and horrific. It’s extremely disheartening to get high-risk folks up to the entrance, risking their own lives to do so, and then not be able to let them in. In both slow and fast speed, it’s a catastrophe.
Charitable organizations and NGOs, such as the Nazarene Fund, have sought to help those in need of a quick escape; however, their efforts are becoming incredibly hard as the end of the withdrawal window approaches.
An official informed NBC News that there has been an overwhelming response. It’s inspirational, but it’s also a sad indictment of the United States’ failure that ordinary persons are being forced to step in to accomplish what the administration, with all of its millions and billions, has failed to achieve.
