Rockets target US troops as core diplomats fly out
Kabul
Taliban have assured 98 countries that they will allow “safe and orderly” withdrawal of foreign citizens and Afghans with foreign travel documents to leave the country even after the US troop withdrawal ends Tuesday.
The 98-nation group includes the United States, Britain, France and Germany. “We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country,” the statement said.
“We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan,” added the statement, which was also signed by the European Union and NATO.
The group said it would continue issuing travel documents to “designated Afghans,” adding that “we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries.”
Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to US President Joe Biden, said earlier Sunday that any Americans who elect to remain “are not going to be stuck in Afghanistan.
The US has “a mechanism to get them out” if they choose to leave in the future, Sullivan added on the Fox News network, without elaborating.
France, Britain and Germany are working on a United Nations proposal aimed at establishing a safe zone in Kabul to allow safe passage for people trying to leave Afghanistan, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday.
Macron, who said France had begun discussions with the Taliban to explore how further evacuations might proceed, said the resolution would be brought on Monday to an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting of veto-wielding members.
“There are some discussions to see how flights could be re-established,” Macron said in a TV interview broadcast by France’s TF1, adding that Qatar was also helping negotiations.—Agencies
