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Pentagon Holds to August Deadline for Afghanistan Evacuations
Posted
August 18, 2021
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1:50
0:37Now PlayingThe Pentagon says U.S. military officers in Kabul are talking to Taliban commanders about making it easier for Afghans and Americans to enter the airport for evacuation flights.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the discussion centers on Taliban curfews and checkpoints that have limited the number of people who are able to reach U.S.-run evacuation processing points inside the airport.
The White House said on Tuesday that the Taliban have agreed to allow safe passage for civilians trying to leave Afghanistan, but the flow of evacuees has been constrained by Taliban obstacles.
Kirby said that the U.S. military says it's talking regularly with the Taliban to help get Afghans into the airport, and also to improve the paperwork process, including for Afghans who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas.
Kirby also said that U.S. troops have fired warning shots along the airport perimeter as a crowd control measure. He said there are now about 4,500 U.S. troops on the ground to secure the airport and help the airlift, and several hundred more are expected to flow in over the next 24 hours.
He says that 2,000 people — including 325 American citizens — were evacuated from Afghanistan in 18 flights over the past 24 hours, just days after the Taliban's stunningly swift takeover of the country.
The U.S. military is still working toward its goal of getting a maximum of 5,000 to 9,000 people out a day.
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