A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Afghanistan to Greece
Continue reading...Category Archives: Taliban
‘We weren’t able to bring everyone’: Jacinda Ardern ends New Zealand flights from Afghanistan
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced New Zealand was ending further flights into Kabul, due to the continuing threat of terrorist attacks. The announcement followed an attack at the airport on Thursday that killed least 60 Afghans and 13 US soldiers.
Ardern said she did not know how many visa holders from Afghanistan remained in the country, nor how many of those registered on SafeTravel managed to get out, but said New Zealand had not given up on trying to bring visa-holders home
Continue reading...Biden reportedly receiving urgent briefings in White House situation room on explosions at Kabul airport – live
- Pentagon confirms multiple casualties after two explosions
- Full story: large explosion hits entry gate at Kabul airport
- British evacuation of eligible Afghans is nearing end, says PM
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US Capitol Police officers who were attacked and beaten during the insurrection at the US Congress on January 6 by extremist supporters of Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the former Republican president, allies such as Roger Stone and members of far-right extremist groups.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul airport blasts
Analysis: Affiliate known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP, poses ‘acute’ and ‘persistent’ threat, says US
The claim of responsibility from the Islamic State for the devastating suicide bombing at Kabul airport came as little surprise to analysts. The organisation’s affiliate in Afghanistan known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), had been pointed to as the prime suspect immediately after the blast.
The IS official Amaq news agency said on its Telegram channel that a member called Abdul Rahman al-Logari carried out “the martyrdom operation near Kabul Airport”. The name suggests the killer of at least 12 US servicemen and more than 60 civilians was Afghan.
Continue reading...Afghanistan evacuations enter ‘most hectic, dangerous phase’ – video
The German defence minister warned of a very concrete risk of attacks at Kabul airport hours before at least one explosion near Abbey gate, an entrance to the Hamid Karzai international airport in Kabul.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer warned on Thursday morning that German officials had advised people 'to no longer come to the airport on their own' but only if they could reach it safely.
The German military has airlifted more than 5,200 people from Kabul so far, including 4,200 Afghans and 505 Germans
Continue reading...Greece will not be ‘gateway’ to Europe for Afghans fleeing Taliban, say officials
Athens calls for a united response, as refugees already in Lesbos hope their asylum claims will now be reconsidered
Greek officials have said that Greece will not become a “gateway” to Europe for Afghan asylum seekers and have called for a united response to predictions of an increase in refugee arrivals to the country.
Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has spoken to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about the developing situation in Afghanistan this week. Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi last week said: “We cannot have millions of people leaving Afghanistan and coming to the European Union … and certainly not through Greece.” The country has just completed a 25-mile (40km) wall along its land border with Turkey and installed an automated surveillance system with cameras, radars and drones.
Continue reading...‘No deadline’ on evacuating Americans from Kabul, says Blinken – live
- US military will help evacuate US citizens beyond 31 August
- Blinken: as many as 1,500 Americans remain in Afghanistan
- Eight government agencies receive letters requesting documents
- Capitol officer who shot Ashli Babbitt to give TV interview
- Committee also seeks communications from Trump children
- Johnson & Johnson touts coronavirus booster shot
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That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh and Aubrey Allegretti report:
Afghans who want to flee to Britain may be better off “trying to get to the border” than awaiting RAF evacuation, the defence secretary has said as British troops made last-ditch attempts to airlift at least 1,500 remaining interpreters and others who have supported the UK.
Related: Fleeing Afghans should try to get to border, says UK defence secretary
Continue reading...Fleeing Afghans should try to get to border, says UK defence secretary
Ben Wallace signals few places remain on UK rescue flights as fears of attack grow and deadline looms
Afghans who want to flee to Britain may be better off “trying to get to the border” than awaiting RAF evacuation, the defence secretary has said as British troops made last-ditch attempts to airlift at least 1,500 remaining interpreters and others who have supported the UK.
Ben Wallace, in a briefing to MPs, signalled there were few places left on British rescue flights, which have evacuated more than 10,000 people from Kabul since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan less than two weeks ago.
Continue reading...‘I saw children falling down’: panic and despair in Kabul as time runs out
Faced with crowd stampedes and Taliban reprisals, even those eligible for travel to UK have begun to give up hope
For the past four days, Nangyalai, a 42-year-old minicab driver from south London, has been queueing with his wife and 11-month-old baby outside the Baron hotel on the edge of Kabul airport, trying to get close enough to the entrance gate to show guards his British passport.
There is a sign by the gate stating “British passport holders only”. Inside the hotel, officials are working to grant evacuation visas for thousands of UK nationals and Afghan citizens who have worked for British organisations. Diplomatic staff say they are “processing hundreds every hour”, but there is a growing sense of despair among the crowds who have been waiting outside since the start of the week – and tensions are rising.
Continue reading...Biden rejects allies’ pleas to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond end of August
US president acknowledges that completing airlift by 31 August depends on Taliban continuing to cooperate
Joe Biden has rejected the pleas of domestic and international allies to keep troops in Afghanistan for evacuation efforts beyond the end of the month, citing the growing threat of a terrorist attack.
In a move likely to fuel criticism that America is abandoning Afghan partners to the Taliban, the US president made clear that he is resolved to withdraw forces from Kabul airport by next Tuesday’s deadline.
Continue reading...Taliban will take ‘different stance’ if US troops remain beyond 31 August – video
A Taliban spokesman has said in a press conference that the 31 August deadline for US evacuations from the country will remain, adding the Taliban are 'not in favour' of allowing skilled Afghans to leave the country and would regard a delay in US withdrawal as contrary to the US agreement with the Taliban.
Zabihullah Mujahid also made clear that the Taliban would take 'a different stance' regarding the presence of US troops beyond 31 August
Continue reading...How the west will try to sway the Taliban
Analysis: The prospect of aid, or the threat of sanctions, may not influence Afghanistan’s new leaders
After some inelegant flip-flopping, the UK and other G7 countries appear to be returning to a familiar combination of carrots and sticks such as humanitarian aid, international recognition and sanctions in an effort to retain a measure of influence over the Taliban.
The threat of sanctions was raised explicitly by the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, in the Daily Telegraph, even though Downing Street had earlier cautioned that such threats were unhelpful during the refugee airlift when maximum cooperation from the militants is required. In practice, the entire Taliban leadership is already subject to sanctions.
Continue reading...Afghanistan could start to run out of food by September, UN warns
World Food Programme calls for urgent aid as chaos of Taliban takeover and second drought in three years create dire humanitarian situation
UN agencies have warned of food shortages to Afghanistan as early as September without urgent aid funding, as it emerged first aid supplies, including surgical equipment and severe malnutrition kits, were stuck due to restrictions at Kabul airport.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the closure of the airport to commercial flights has held up key deliveries.
Continue reading...UK scrambles to complete Kabul airlift as envoy flags risk of provoking Taliban
Exclusive: Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan says continuing evacuations after 31 August could spark reaction from militants
Britain has begun a last-ditch scramble to get people out of Kabul amid warnings from the senior diplomat on the ground that staying past the current 31 August deadline may not be realistic and risks provoking the Taliban.
Speaking to MPs from Kabul, Sir Laurie Bristow, Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said trying to hold Kabul’s airport any longer would be fraught with risk. He was speaking before Tuesday’s G7 meeting, which is expected to discuss a request from the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to the US president, Joe Biden, to stay longer.
Continue reading...Taliban says US troops staying beyond deadline ‘will provoke reaction’ – video
Staying beyond the agreed deadline of 31 August would be 'extending occupation', Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said on Monday, and this would 'provoke a reaction'.
The comments were made after a firefight between unidentified gunmen and US, German and Afghan guards at the airport left one Afghan guard dead and three wounded. Thousands of soldiers have returned to the country to manage the airlifting of foreigners and Afghans who worked with western nations out of the Taliban-controlled country
Continue reading...Joe Biden: withdrawal from Afghanistan would always be ‘hard and painful’ – video
The evacuation of thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies from Kabul would have been 'hard and painful no matter when it started or when we began', Joe Biden said on Sunday, amid fierce criticism of his administration’s handling of the US withdrawal.
Answering questions, he said it was possible that his deadline for the completion of the evacuation, 31 August, would be extended
Continue reading...Biden: Afghanistan evacuations would always have been ‘hard and painful’
President defends US exit but makes changes to airlift effort at Kabul airport after criticism over deaths and chaotic scenes
The evacuation of thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies from Kabul would have been “hard and painful no matter when it started or when we began”, Joe Biden insisted on Sunday, amid fierce criticism of his administration’s handling of the US withdrawal.
Related: Pentagon orders commercial airlines to help in Afghanistan evacuations
Continue reading...Nosedive in UK-US relations is another casualty of Afghanistan’s fall
Ministers are becoming openly critical of Joe Biden after being left in the dark about major decisions
So much for the special relationship. As the Afghanistan crisis has unfolded, it has precipitated a high-speed deterioration in Anglo-American relations.
What began as a muted disagreement on whether it was right for the US to withdraw militarily has reached the point where UK government sources are openly briefing against President Joe Biden as the situation in Kabul worsens.
Continue reading...‘We lost everything’: Afghan wheelchair basketball team captain speaks out
Nilofar Bayat begins rebuilding her life in Spain after days of fear for her life under Taliban rule
When the Taliban entered Kabul, Nilofar Bayat, the captain of Afghanistan’s female national wheelchair basketball team, knew she had to get out.
“There were so many videos of me playing basketball. I had been active in calling for women’s rights and the rights of women with disabilities,” she said. “If the Taliban found out all of this about me, I knew they would kill me.”
Continue reading...Afghan civil war ‘unavoidable’ if Taliban refuse talks, says opposition leader
Ahmad Massoud issues warning as militant group seeks to assert control around Kabul airport
One of the main figures still leading Afghan opposition to the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Ahmad Massoud, has warned that a new civil war is inevitable without a comprehensive power-sharing agreement.
The son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who opposed the Taliban in the 1990s and was assassinated two days before 9/11 in 2001, Massoud told the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television channel that war was “unavoidable” if the Taliban refused dialogue.
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