The Taliban have been conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" of individuals they want to apprehend and their family members, a UN report says, despite their promise not to seek revenge on opponents.
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The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants vowing no revenge against opponents.
The report by the UN's threat-assessment consultants says the group has "priority lists" of individuals it wants to arrest.
It corroborates testimonies from dozens of Afghans inside the country, including a former employee of EUPOL, a European Union agency training Afghan police, and a former staffer at the Dutch embassy, both of whom told Euronews Taliban fighters were going door to door in Kabul to identify people who had worked for the international community.
Taliban fighters and checkpoints ringed Kabul airport on Thursday, adding to fears for Afghan nationals who previously worked for the West. This evening German broadcaster Deutsche Welle said the Taliban had shot and killed one of its reporters' family members.
The militant group has promised safe passage to Kabul Airport to foreigners. But Afghan nationals eligible for evacuation have reported difficulties and violence.
Planeloads of EU citizens and Afghan refugees have been landing in Europe throughout Thursday. But chaos at the airport continues, while the Taliban opened fire on an Independence Day protest in Kabul and a fledgling resistance movement continues to assert its presence in the northeast.
Follow the live updates in our live blog below:
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The U.S.-based International Refugee Assistance Programme has said about 100,000 Afghans seeking evacuation through a US visa programme have so far applied. The State Department had put the figure at 80,000 on Monday.
Other western countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK are also evacuating their citizens and locals who worked for them.
US President Joe Biden stressed on Wednesday that Washington, whose forces control the airport in Kabul, would do "everything in our power" to evacuate Americans and US allies.
Pressed repeatedly on how the administration would help those left in the country after that date, Biden said: "if there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”
'Actions, rather than words'
The Taliban, which is seeking to establish what it terms an 'inclusive' government, met with former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Wednesday.
Karzai was joined by the former government's main peace envoy, Abdullah Abdullah, in the first sign of engagement between the Taliban and the ousted government since the fall of Kabul last Sunday.
The preliminary meeting was intended to facilitate eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban political leader, a spokesperson for Karzai said.
The group has also sought to appease the international community since the takeover, declaring a "general amnesty" and stressing there would be "many differences" in the way they administered the country compared to their previous period in power.
The Taliban has said, for instance, that women will not be obliged to wear the burqa, the Islamic full-body covering, and may be allowed to work - within the bounds of its reading of Islamic law.
This is unlikely to appease other countries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged foreign countries on Wednesday not to recognise a Taliban regime "prematurely or bilaterally", calling instead for them to "work together towards new conditions" for the new regime to respect.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian issued a similar call, writing on Twitter: "I have asked that the Taliban demonstrate by their actions that they have changed as they claim. It is up to them to prove it."
Afghanistan loses access to IMF resources
Failure to be recognised by the international community would lead to further economic strain for Afghanistan — already one of the poorest countries in the world.
Gerry Rice, the spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), revealed on Wednesday evening that Afghanistan had lost access to Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) or other IMF resources.
"The IMF is guided by the views of the international community. There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding recognition of a government in Afghanistan," he explained.
The Taliban have also urged foreign countries not to cut financial assistance and said production of opium — from which they derived a large chunk of their revenues over the past two decades — will be brought back to "zero".
Both the EU and Germany have already announced that they are suspending development aid to the country until further notice.
It came as the head of the UN's food agency said that Afghanistan was "on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe" due to the conflict, the nation's second severe drought in three years, and the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mary Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Programme’s country director, told UN correspondents from Kabul that more than 40 per cent of crops had been lost, and hundreds of thousands displaced, ahead of the approaching winter. "The race is on to get food where it’s most needed," she said.
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Key developments
- A UN report warns the Taliban is 'intensifying' its search for Afghans who worked for the United States
- Joe Biden says US forces could retain control over Kabul airport beyond August 31 if evacuations need to continue
- The Taliban has shot dead the relative of a Deutsche Welle reporter, the German broadcaster said
- The IMF says Afghanistan has lost access to its resources as access is based on international recognition
- The UN's food agency warns Afghanistan is on the brink of "humanitarian catastrophe" due to conflict, COVID-19 and a severe drought
- Some anti-Taliban demonstrations to mark Independence Day were violently suppressed
- The first 106 Afghan employees of the EU mission in Afghanistan have been evacuated to Madrid, top diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed
Erdogan on refugees: Europe cannot 'stay out of the problem'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Europeans to shoulder the responsibility for Afghans fleeing the Taliban.
In a televised address after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Erdogan said: “We need to remind our European friends of this fact: Europe, which has become the centre of attraction for millions of people, cannot stay out of the problem by harshly sealing its borders. Turkey has no duty, responsibility or obligation to be Europe’s refugee warehouse."
He said his government would “if necessary” engage in talks with a government formed by the Taliban "for the stability and security of this country.”
Erdogan said his country is home to 5 million foreign nationals, including 3.6 million Syrians and 300,000 Afghans. Around 1.1 million have residence permits, he said.
Afghan police chief and family rescued by US and British allies from Kabul
During the fighting last week they lost contact with Khalid for several days and feared he was dead. Since Sunday partners on the ground had tried at least four times to get Khalid, his wife and their four sons aged three to 12, to a rendezvous point where they could be rescued.
Robert McCreary, a former White House official under US President George W. Bush, said on Thursday that the family finally reached a place on Wednesday where they could be whisked away by helicopter. He added that multiple allies including British troops had helped.
The family is now in an undisclosed location under the protection of the US. US Army Special Forces Sgt. Major Chris Green, who worked with Khalid in Afghanistan, said today he was "elated" by news of the family's escape.
Relative of Deutsche Welle journalist shot dead by Taliban
German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle has said the Taliban shot and killed a family member of one of its reporters in Afghanistan, severely injuring another.
In a statement on Thursday evening DW said the man was being "hunted" by the Taliban and added: "Other relatives were able to escape at the last moment and are now on the run."
The report adds credence to the widespread belief that contrary to official Taliban claims, individual members are still targeting ex-government employees, journalists and activists in parts of the country in apparent acts of reprisal.
DW's director-general Peter Limbourg said: "The killing of a close relative of one of our editors by the Taliban in Herat yesterday is inconceivably tragic, and testifies to the acute danger in which all our employees and their families in Afghanistan find themselves.
"It is evident that the Taliban are already carrying out organized searches for journalists, both in Kabul and in the provinces. We are running out of time."
The channel says Taliban members have already raided the homes of at least three of its journalists. Elsewhere Nematullah Hemat of the TV station Ghargasht is believed to have been kidnapped, and Toofan Omar, head of the Paktia Ghag Radio station, was shot dead by Taliban fighters.
US aircraft in Kabul have capacity for thousands a day
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said there had been no Taliban violence directed toward US service personnel and the US "hadn't seen" the group obstructing any American citizens trying to leave. There have been widespread reports of the Taliban targeting Afghans on their way to the airport.
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UN report: Taliban 'intensifying' search for Afghans who worked for United States
The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants having vowed no revenge against opponents.
The report - produced by the UN's threat-assessment consultants and seen by AFP - says the group has "priority lists" of individuals it wants to arrest.
Most at risk are people who had central roles in the Afghan military, police and intelligence units, according to the report.
Taliban fighters have been conducting "targeted door-to-door visits" of individuals they want to apprehend and their family members, the report says.
It adds that militants are screening individuals on the way to Kabul airport and have set up checkpoints in major cities, including the capital and Jalalabad.
The document, dated Wednesday, was written by the Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, an organization that provides intelligence to UN agencies.
"They are targeting the families of those who refuse to give themselves up, and prosecuting and punishing their families 'according to Sharia law,'" Christian Nellemann, the group's executive director, told AFP.
"We expect both individuals previously working with NATO/US forces and their allies, alongside with their family members to be exposed to torture and executions.
"This will further jeopardize western intelligence services, their networks, methods and ability to counter both the Taliban, ISIS and other terrorist threats ahead."
The report also says the militants are "rapidly recruiting" local informants to collaborate with the Taliban and expanding their lists of targets by contacting mosques and currency exchanges.
The Taliban has launched a public relations blitz since sweeping back into power on Sunday, including promising full amnesty for those who worked with the elected Afghan government and foreign powers.
But Afghans and observers have not forgotten the ultra-conservative Islamic regime of 1996 to 2001 when brutal punishments, such as stoning to death for adultery, were imposed.
New government must be inclusive, Afghan politicians warn
A delegation of Afghan leaders and officials told reporters in Pakistan that the Taliban won't survive for long if it fails to uphold citizens' rights.
The group, led by speaker of parliament Mir Rehman Rehmani, have been in Islamabad since Monday, meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and other political and military officials.
In a press conference on Thursday, former Afghan vice president Mohammad Younis Qanooni, said “the future government in Afghanistan should be inclusive, with participation from all ethnic groups. We oppose rule by one party or group."
Khalid Noor, a prominent politician, said the Taliban could not rule by force in Afghanistan and would have to respect people's rights to ensure longevity.
Russia FM: Taliban has given green light to Russian civil aviation for evacuations
Afghan female doctors arrive in Rome
Czech ambassador honoured for swift evacuation of 200 people
Andrej Babiš, prime minister of the Czech Republic, said on Thursday the country had "saved everyone we wanted to", adding: "The mission was accomplished."
Three Czech evacuation flights in 72 hours brought around 200 citizens and Afghan colleagues back from Kabul. In a tweet on Thursday, Babiš congratulated Ambassador Jiří Baloun and his team for getting those eligible for evacuation onto flights to Europe.
Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek separately confirmed Baloun would receive the Czech Medal of Merit for Diplomacy, an award created in 2018, for the swift action in the Afghan capital. Baloun's team also salvaged the Czech flag from the embassy in Kabul.
Those flown to the Czech Republic included all the local embassy staffers, interpreters who helped the Czech armed forces during NATO missions, and their families.
There are 'greater threats' than Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Biden says
“We should be focusing on where the threat is the greatest,” Biden said in an interview that aired on ABC’s “Good Morning America”.
“And the idea we can continue to spend a trillion dollars, and have tens of thousands of American forces in Afghanistan, when we have North Africa and Western Africa — the idea we can do that and ignore those looming problems, growing problems, is not rational.”
Biden named Syria and East Africa as places where the Islamic State group poses a “significantly greater threat” than in Afghanistan and said that ISIS has “metastasized.” He said while the U.S. doesn’t have a sizable military presence in a place like Syria, it does have an “over the horizon capability to take them out.”
Taliban celebrate Independence Day
Thursday marked Afghanistan’s Independence Day, which commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule in the central Asian nation.
“Fortunately, today we are celebrating the anniversary of independence from Britain," the Taliban said. "We at the same time as a result of our jihadi resistance forced another arrogant of power of the world, the United States, to fail and retreat from our holy territory of Afghanistan.”
Unacknowledged by the insurgents, however, was their violent suppression of a protest Wednesday in the eastern city of Jalalabad, which saw demonstrations lower the Taliban's flag and replace it with Afghanistan's tricolour. At least one person was killed.
The Afghan tricolour is becoming a symbol of defiance.
26 Hungarians evacuated
More than two dozen Hungarian nationals evacuated from Kabul arrived in Frankfurt, Germany early Thursday, and will likely be transported to Hungary later in the day, deputy foreign minister Levente Magyar told reporters.
The air evacuation of the 26 Hungarians was carried out by Hungary’s military allies with a stopover in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The evacuees had worked as private security contractors at the Dutch embassy in Kabul before the city’s takeover by the Taliban. Magyar did not say which allies were involved in the operation.
A separate evacuation mission was launched from Hungary early Thursday, which will attempt to recover other Hungarians still in Afghanistan and some Afghan citizens who assisted Hungarian military forces, Magyar said. Not all of the Hungarian citizens awaiting evacuation have yet made it to Kabul airport, he added.
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Spanish flight brings first Afghans to Madrid
Spain's migration minister José Luis Escrivá said there were 32 children in the group. Journalists also saw several women getting off the aircraft.
Madrid has also agreed to remove local EU and NATO personnel from Afghanistan and fly them to Spain, which will serve as a "point of entry into the European Union", before being sent to various European countries.
France: Afghan families arrive in Lille
According to the former minister, Lille is ready to welcome at least 100 Afghans threatened by the Taliban takeover of the Taliban. The city has fitted out apartments for the refugees and launched an appeal for donations to help care for them.
Dutch military plane lands in Amsterdam from Kabul
The Ministry of Defense says that a C-17 plane landed late Wednesday night at Schiphol airport. Onboard were 35 Dutch nationals along with citizens from Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The government says it has now airlifted 50 Dutch nationals out of Kabul. A Dutch consular crisis team along with dozens of troops to protect the personnel flew into the Afghan capital on Wednesday.
NATO foreign ministers to meet on Friday
Taliban want 'better diplomatic and trade relations' with other countries
100 Polish soldiers to be deployed in Afghanistan
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday evening approved the deployment of a 100-person military contingent to Afghanistan to help secure the evacuation of Polish citizens and the citizens of other countries in coordination with allies.
The order signed by Duda plans for the mission to last up to Sept. 16.
Meanwhile, a first plane carrying a group of people who were evacuated from Afghanistan landed at Warsaw’s military airport late Wednesday, said Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. The group was first taken from Kabul by military plane to Uzbekistan and from there was transported on to Warsaw.