US scrambles to speed up Afghanistan evacuations as Taliban warn of 'Red Line'

The United States on Monday scrambled to ramp up the chaotic evacuation efforts of the hundreds of thousands of Westerners, local allies, and Afghan nationals from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as the Taliban announced a ‘red line’ forbidding evacuations post one week. In its desperate efforts, the US troops airlifted the evacuees on Monday amid the increasing pressure as crowds, in humongous turnout, gathered outside the Kabul airport to escape the Taliban regime in fear of reprisal. 

Reports reveal, that US President Joe Biden has been vouching for the extension of the Aug 31 deadline for the complete withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Britain, meanwhile,  lobbied at a virtual G7 summit on Aug. 23 to establish a longer presence and buy time for the safe evacuation of the allies. Thus far, an estimated 50,000 foreigners and Afghans have fled the conflict-ridden country as the Taliban seized control of the Capital of Kabul. 

[US Marines and Norweigian coalition forces assist with security at an Evacuation Control Checkpoint ensuring evacuees are processed safely during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/AP]

Taliban, which had stood guard at key entrances and checkpoints to the Kabul airport on Monday described next week's cut-off date as a "red line” as it warned the US that it had remained tolerant of the evacuation efforts. "If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations -- the answer is ‘no’ there would be consequences,"spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in his televised remarks to Sky. Furthermore, stressing the repercussions of extending the drawing down a deadline, the Taliban’s spokesperson said that any foreign military presence beyond the agreed deadline in Afghanistan would be deemed as ‘occupation’ of the soil as he hinted at retaliation. 

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen warned in televised remarks that if US troops did not withdraw by Aug 31deadline and remained on Afghan soil, ”our leadership will take proper and necessary decision[s].”

Biden told reporters at the White House "there's discussions going on in the military about extending. My hope is we will not have to extend. That decision depends on how far along we are in the process of evacuating Americans.” 

He added, "We'll see what we can do," when asked about his plans for the G7 leaders. European Union and Britain are expected to press Biden for deadline to be extended. UK would raise the issue at an online G7 meeting on Tuesday.

Biden administration 'still making a decision'

The US military, however, has been advising US commander-in-chief, Joe Biden, that he must decide by Tuesday, Aug. 24 if the evacuation in Afghanistan were to extend beyond Aug. 31, but Biden administration is yet to make a decision, a defense official familiar with the development told US broadcasting corps. Defense officials have expressed concerns about making the decision faster as withdrawing 5,800 US troops on the ground, weaponry, and military equipment currently in Kabul would need time. But Biden has still been deciding the next move, according to reports, as several of President's advisers have warned against the deadline extension citing the Taliban's ‘red line’ declaration. 

UK armed forces minister James Heappey said in televised remarks that the mission to fly out thousands of British nationals and Afghans depends on US. "Mission in Kabul this week is fundamentally underpinned by a US presence," he said in a broadcast statement, adding that  UK foreign secretary and defence secretary have been in discussions with US counterparts about an extension but it is "a matter for the prime minister [Boris Johnson]" tomorrow.

The US and coalition troops aircraft have lifted approximately 16,000 evacuees in the past 24 hours. The UK has evacuated 5,725 people from Kabul in the last10 days, including more than 3,100 Afghans, according to the British defense ministry’s statement. German armed forces wrote on Twitter that its troops have lifted nearly 3,000 people out of Kabul, 300 Afghans landed in Spain into a military base in the northeast. Denmark aircrafts carrying  650 evacuees to the Nordic country departed earlier on Sunday.

Swiss armed forces meanwhile have evacuated around 100 people with Swiss connections out of Kabul including the Afghan staff, the foreign ministry said in a statement. US intelligence officials previously warned that there was the ISIS-K threat that included veteran jihadists from Syria and other foreign terrorist fighters that have hijacked Kabul. The terror operatives' name derives from regional origination that is Afghanistan and Pakistan— "Khorasan."

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a briefing on Monday, “ The military is working with an August 31 deadline in mind. That is the mission we've been assigned by the commander in chief, that’s what we're trying to execute.”