By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL – Most recent reports out of Afghanistan include sobering news. On Tuesday, after the Taliban pledged to create a more inclusive government, a protest in Jalalabad ended in the deaths of at least five people and was quashed by the Taliban. On Thursday, in various parts of the country, Afghans celebrated their Independence Day by waving their national flag. But in one city, eyewitnesses said the Taliban opened fire on crowds celebrating in Asadabad in Kunar province, according to a report from Al-Jazeera.
In the meantime, the U.S. is still working to evacuate up to 2,000 people a day out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport. On Wednesday morning, close to 4,000 marines and soldiers with a small group of airmen were sent in to reinforce 1,000 troops that still remain in the country. U.S. President Joe Biden said troops may remain after August 31 in an effort to get everyone out of Afghanistan including Afghans who helped the American military. Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab received heavy backlash for ignoring calls for assistance to airlift Afghans who helped the British during the long conflict. Raab is being pressured to resign but he insists he will not.
The United Nations is temporarily moving a third of its foreign staff to Kazakhstan to work temporarily on a remote basis as the UN said, due to “the volatile situation in the country.” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday, announced that almost 100 UN personnel would be traveling from Kabul to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan to work in a temporary satellite office. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN Security Council on Monday that the UN is committed to staying in Afghanistan to offer humanitarian aid. Guterres added that his organization will adapt to the current security situation as it unfolds. Dujarric commented that a majority of the UN humanitarian staff will “remain in Afghanistan, providing vital assistance to millions most in need.”
