The Taliban has promised to allow “safe passage” for civilians to Kabul’s airport, White House officials said Tuesday, although it is unclear exactly how long that arrangement will last.
Evacuation flights continued at Hamid Karzai International Airport Tuesday after a chaotic day prior saw hundreds of Afghans swarm the runway, hoping to escape the country as the Taliban tightened its grip on the capital city.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday said U.S. government officials have been “working, engaging, coordinating with Taliban elements on the ground” in order to evacuate American citizens, embassy personnel, translators and other at-risk individuals as quickly as possible.
“The Taliban have informed us they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport,” Sullivan said during a White House press briefing, adding: “We intend to hold them to that commitment.”
So far, officials have seen “very large numbers” of individuals present themselves at the airport, Sullivan said. But he also confirmed they have received reports of certain Taliban checkpoints turning violent, including several instances of people being turned away, questioned, and even beaten.
“We are taking that up in a channel with the Taliban to try and resolve those issues, and we are concerned about whether that will continue to unfold in the coming days,” Sullivan said of the violence. “As things stand right now, what we are finding is that we are getting people through the gate, we are getting them lined up, and we are getting them on planes.”
Sullivan and other White House officials confirmed that the U.S. still plans to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline for a complete withdrawal from the country, and would not say if troops will remain in Afghanistan beyond that date should more Americans and allies still need to be evacuated.
“Our focus right now is on doing the work at hand and on the task at hand, and that is day by day,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in part.
There are about 11,000 “self-identified” American citizens across Afghanistan that the U.S. government is working to assist, Psaki said, although could not say how many of those aimed to evacuate the country.
Anyone who does want to evacuate must travel to Kabul’s airport unaided, with Sullivan saying U.S. officials “communicated with American citizens for weeks telling them to get out of the country.”
“We offered financial assistance for those who would not be able to afford to get flights. Many chose to stay right until the end, and that was their choice,” Sullivan added.
