Kabul airport reopened, more US troops to help with evacuation: US Major General

Amid the surge in the number of people fleeing Afghanistan rises, a US general confirmed that Kabul's airport reopened early Tuesday after being closed for hours. The airport was earlier shut by the US forces following a breakdown in security on the airstrip which then interrupted evacuation operations. The US will now resume evacuation flight services to Kabul.

US resumes evacuation efforts in Kabul

Major General Hank Taylor, a logistics specialist on the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the airport was open now and the services are resuming in the region. Further stressing on the number of US soldiers currently in Kabul, general Taylor said, “We have approximately 2,500 troops that have moved into Kabul (in Afghanistan) within the last 72 hours & more will arrive soon. We expect nearly 3,000 to 3,500 troops on the ground by the end of the day.”

He then gave information regarding the rescue operations in the region. “At 15.35 Eastern Time here, the airfield at Hamid Karzai International Airport was open for operations. Shortly thereafter, the first C17 landed. The next C17 is preparing to land now. Now that the airfield is open (in Kabul), our mission is to make sure that it remains open so that we can continue expediting flights in and out,” the US general added. The explanation came after horrific videos of crowds flocking at the Kabul airport to fly out of the country began surfacing.

The general further added that the US forces’ focus is to maintain security at HKIA. General Taylor said that the forces will continue to expedite flight operations while safeguarding Americans and Afghan civilians at the airport. The airport was shut down after crowds of civilians surged onto the runways. Meanwhile, the US forces killed two armed Afghan men as thousands sought to board flights in the Kabul airport.

US President backs withdrawal decision

United States President Joe Biden, on Monday, addressed the world for the first time after the Ashraf Ghani-led government surrendered to the Taliban forces claimed power in Kabul. Speaking about the ongoing incidents, President Biden said that he is ‘deeply saddened’, however does not regret his decision to withdraw the US troops. Addressing the issue as ‘not our’ security concern, the President that it was time for the US troops to leave the foreign soil. Biden’s rush-arranged speech came amid criticism regarding the withdrawal decision from the US, which in turn led to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

IMAGE: TWITTER

(With ANI inputs)