Taliban allow 'safe passage' from Kabul in US airlift

Washington DC: The Taliban have agreed to allow safe passage from Afghanistan for civilians struggling to join a US-directed airlift from the capital, President Joe Biden's national security adviser said, although a timetable for completing the evacuation of Americans, Afghan allies and others has yet to be worked out with the country's new rulers.

Jake Sullivan on Tuesday acknowledged reports that some civilians were encountering resistance - being turned away or pushed back or even beaten - as they tried to reach the Kabul international airport.

But he said very large numbers were reaching the airport and the problem of the others was being taken up with the Taliban, whose stunningly swift takeover of the country on Sunday plunged the US evacuation effort into chaos, confusion and violence.

Pentagon officials said that after interruptions on Monday, the airlift was back on track and being accelerated despite weather problems, amid regular communication with Taliban leaders. Additional US troops arrived and more were on the way, with a total of more than 6,000 expected to be involved in securing the airport in coming days.

The US has so far evacuated more than 3,200 people from Kabul, including 1,100 on Tuesday alone, the White House said, after the Taliban insurgents seized power in Afghanistan.

Today, US military flights evacuated approximately 1,100 US citizens, US permanent residents, and their families on 13 flights, 12 with C-17 sorties and one with a C-130. Now that we have established the flow, we expect those numbers to escalate, a White House official said on Tuesday.

We have evacuated more than 3,200 people so far, including our personnel. In addition to these more than 3,200 total evacuated, we have relocated nearly 2,000 Afghan special immigrants to the United States, said the White House official.

Earlier in the day, US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan said the issue of evacuation is being resolved with each successive flight.

We will be putting 300 passengers on an average military cargo plane heading out of the country..., he added.

The State Department said it was sending John Bass, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, to manage the evacuation operation in Kabul, and the Pentagon said it will send Army Maj. Gen. Christopher Donohue, a special operations officer and current commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, to take command of airport security operations.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby disclosed that US officers were speaking with Taliban commanders "multiple times a day" about avoiding conflict at the airport.

This suggested that the new rulers of Afghanistan, who swept to power after 20 years of war against the US-supported Kabul government, plan not to disrupt the evacuation.