US evacuates 10,900 more people from Kabul: White House
Aug 24, 2021
Washington [US], August 24 : The United States has evacuated another 10,900 individuals from Kabul, Afghanistan, since Monday morning, a White House official informed on Monday.
"Between 3:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET today, a total of approximately 10,900 people were evacuated from Kabul," White House Rapid Response Director Mike Gwin tweeted.
Gwin also noted that the US has so far helped evacuate 48,000 people from Kabul since August 14.
Many countries have resorted to evacuating their citizens and diplomatic personnel from Afghanistan due to the precarious security situation, and some have pledged to take in a limited number of Afghan asylum seekers.
After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban and the civilian government collapsed last week, the country has landed into a tumultuous situation with thousands seeking to leave through Kabul airport.
According to CNN's input, US President Joe Biden was still deciding whether to extend the deadline for removing all US troops from the war-ravaged country.
US military advisers have told the Biden he must decide by Tuesday to provide enough time to withdraw the troops and equipment on the ground in Kabul, the report added.
Last week, Biden had termed the evacuation from Afghanistan the 'most difficult and largest airlift' ever in history. He had assured to get all Americans and allies out of the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff today said it is very unlikely the US will meet the August 31 deadline, given the number of people on the ground that still must be evacuated.
"I think it's possible but I think it's very unlikely given the number of Americans that still need to be evacuated, the number of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders; it's hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month," Sputnik quoted Schiff as saying.
