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No deadline for evacuations from Kabul: Blinken

No deadline for evacuations from Kabul: Blinken

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26 Aug 2021 - 11:53
No deadline for evacuations from Kabul: Blinken
author avatar
26 Aug 2021 - 11:53

KABUL (Pajhwok): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is no deadline for the evacuation of Americans and Afghans from the war-ravaged country.

The Americans and Afghans who wanted to leave past August 31 would not be forgotten, Blinken told journalists on Wednesday.

“We will use every diplomatic, economic assistance tool at our disposal to pressure the Taliban to let people leave the country,” the Voice of America quoted him as saying.

Since Aug. 14, the White House said, the US had evacuated or helped evacuate around 82,300 people on American military and coalition flights.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: “We’re on track to have the largest US airlift in history. I think that speaks for itself.”

Speaking at the State Department, Blinken acknowledged the complexity of the massive evacuation mission.

“We’re operating in a hostile environment in a country now controlled by the Taliban, with the very real possibility of an ISIS-K attack,” he remarked…”

Blinken said there were about 6,000 Americans in Afghanistan on Aug. 14, but 4,500 of them had since been airlifted out of the country.

At a separate news briefing, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby made clear controlling security at Kabul the airport after Aug. 31 would not be an American responsibility.

PAN Monitor/mud

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