6,000 people at Kabul airport processed for evacuation, will soon board planes: US State Dept
Aug 19, 2021
Washington DC [US], August 20 : As many as 6,000 are at the Kabul airport right now who have been fully processed by the United States councillor team for evacuation and will soon board a flight, said a US State Department spokesperson.
Addressing a presser, spokesperson Ned Price stated that the US authorities are aware of congestion around the Kabul airport where 5,200 US troops are deployed on the ground.
"There are 6,000 people at the airport right now who have been fully processed by our councillor team and will soon board planes," said Price.
"In an update on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, 12 C-17s departed within the last 24 hrs with more than 2,000 passengers who arrived safe-havens. Since August 14, we have airlifted 7,000 total evacuees," he added.
The State Department spokesperson said that they "are aware of congestion around the airport" and are "working closely with the Department of Defense to facilitate safe and orderly access for consular processing on the airport compound."
Price said flights continued throughout the airport, noting that US citizens and legal permanent residents "will be given the first opportunity to board". He further said the US was continuing to deploy more consular officers, including to Qatar and Kuwait as well as in Kabul.
"At this point, we don't have the resources to go beyond the airport compound (in Kabul)," the spokesperson said.
Earlier on Thursday, Pentagon said that the US footprint in Kabul is now over 5,200 total troops on the ground. At a press briefing, US Army Major General William "Hank" Taylor said, "The US footprint in Kabul is now over 5,200 total troops on the ground. Kabul Airport remains secure and open for flight operations."
Providing an update on evacuations from Afghanistan, Taylor said that since the start of evacuation operations on August 14, the US has evacuated nearly 7,000 total evacuees. The cumulative number of people moved out of Afghanistan is somewhere near 12,000.
