Who owns the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul – and who will control it after the US troops have withdrawn? This question is just as important for the Taliban as it is for the West, which wants to fly more people out of Afghanistan in the future. Accordingly, intensive negotiations are already underway behind the scenes, in which there are different actors with extremely different goals.
But one thing is already certain: the last US troops are to withdraw tomorrow, and control of the Hamid Karzai airport will be taken over by the Taliban from Wednesday. So far, NATO troops had secured the important parts of the airport, thus making the airlift possible for foreigners and Afghans fleeing the Taliban to fly.
But tomorrow it will be over: “We will leave the country on August 31, and from this point we will give the airport back to the Afghan people,” affirmed the spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price.
Meanwhile, France and Great Britain want to lobby the United Nations today for the creation of a “safe zone” in the Afghan capital Kabul in order to be able to continue humanitarian operations. This was announced by President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (France, Great Britain, USA, Russia and China) are discussing the situation in Afghanistan today.
Missile struck
According to Macron, London and Paris are working on a draft resolution that aims to define a protected zone “under the control of the UN in Kabul”. This could create a UN framework for emergencies, clarify responsibilities and “allow the international community to maintain pressure on the Taliban,” said Macron.
Shortly before the end of the evacuation mission in Afghanistan, there was another explosion yesterday. As the police chief of Kabul announced, a missile struck northwest of the airport. The story is said to have been smashed into a house. A child would have been killed in the process. A large column of black smoke could be seen in pictures and videos.
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden had warned urgently against further attacks against American soldiers. The situation is still “extremely dangerous” and the risk of terrorist attacks on Kabul airport is high, said Biden. The military considers an attack in the next 24 to 36 hours to be “very likely”.
Shortly thereafter, the US embassy in Afghanistan called on all Americans near the airport to evacuate immediately because of “a specific, credible threat”.
Another retaliatory strike
Only on Thursday were at least 13 US soldiers and two British soldiers killed in an IS attack at Kabul airport. The soldiers were between 20 and 31 years old. The information on the Afghan fatalities fluctuates, broadcasters such as CNN spoke of up to 200 dead. Biden then announced retaliatory attacks against ISIS. Two leading IS fighters are said to have been killed in the first attack. Yesterday the US military flew the next attack with a drone. A terrorist militia car in Kabul was hit.
Taking in refugees: EU calls for concrete plans
The EU Commission expects specific offers from the member states to take in refugees. “The EU pays the member states 10,000 euros per person as part of the resettlement programs,” said the EU Commission’s spokesman for domestic and migration policy, Christian Wigand, of the newspaper “Die Welt am Sonntag”.
They are working at full speed “on a comprehensive approach to the crisis in Afghanistan”. This included support in the region for the local people, the fight against people smuggled, border management and safe and legal ways for particularly vulnerable people to get protection in Europe, i.e. “resettlement”. As part of the humanitarian admission program of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for recognized refugees, EU states have admitted more than 80,000 people from crisis areas since 2015, according to the Commission.
“We expect the member states to make commitments for the coming year by mid-September. It’s about people from different regions, but of course Afghanistan will now also be a particular focus, ”said Wigand. It is about “clearly defined groups of people who are particularly at risk, such as journalists or human rights activists, especially women and girls”. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the EU interior ministers will discuss the crisis in Afghanistan in Brussels. Austria has so far refused to accept any further refugees, including through the resettlement program.
Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Green) called on the weekend to get women, girls and people who worked for the previous government in Kabul or western states out of Afghanistan. They feared being tortured, executed or stoned by the Taliban. “It is imperative to help together now as Europe,” said Zadic to the “courier”.
Regarding the coalition’s line of only providing local help for the time being, she said: “Local help will be necessary, but it will also be necessary to get women and girls who are now at risk out of there.” Zadic said about the VP’s rejection : “Then we will have to do some persuasive work. All green members of the government and, by the way, the vast majority of our European neighbors agree. “
