United States President Joe Biden announced that U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan can stay past the withdrawal deadline until every American who wishes to leave the country is safely accounted for.
During an interview on August 18, Biden said the American government will suspend the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan. The Democratic leader said that officials would determine "at the time who's left" in the country.
Withdrawing All Americans From Afghanistan
He said that if there were any American civilians left, the troops would work on getting them safely back home. However, the White House did not immediately reply to questions regarding the situation.
Biden said that there were still around 10,000 to 15,000 Americans in Afghanistan who were waiting to be evacuated. He also said that the American government wanted to evacuate around 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies and family members from the war-torn country.
"It depends on where we are and whether we can get to ramp these numbers to five, to 7,000 a day coming out. If that's the case, they'll all be out. The commitment holds to get everyone out," Biden said during an interview, MSN reported.
Within this year, more than 270,000 people in Afghanistan have been displaced from their homes due to the advance of the Taliban. The numbers were an estimate of a report by the United Nations released on July 13.
Biden's announcement comes after a chaotic scene was observed at a Kabul airport where hundreds of residents flooded American planes in an attempt to flee the country. The situation is made more difficult as the militant group is blocking Afghans from entering the airport without travel documents. However, even those who have valid authorization are struggling to pass through.
When shown pictures of the chaotic scene in Kabul and images where some residents fell off a flying U.S. plane, Biden said that the American government should immediately take control of the situation. He added that things have to move quickly to get a handle on the airport and the panic that has ensued, BBC reported.
Resistance Against the Taliban
With the Taliban taking control of the Afghan government, many people have expressed their resistance by protesting. Despite militant fighters patrolling the streets on Thursday, residents continued to decry the group's violent attacks.
However, the Pentagon said that their focus was to maintain the airport perimeter and increase the number of evacuees from Kabul. Residents held up the Afghan flag in their continued resistance against the rule of the Taliban.
Dozens of protesters, including women, marched through the streets of the city on the country's Independence Day. Despite Taliban members firing warning shots into the air, people continued to resist the unjust rule.
Several provinces also observed protests on Wednesday, one of which was in the eastern province of Jalalabad, where the Taliban flag was torn down and replaced with the Afghan national flag. The sign of the country was erected in a public square to show the people's solidarity in times of crisis, ABC News reported.
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