Mr. Biden is determined to complete the largest airlift in history before August 31 0
(Dan Tri) – US President Joe Biden decided not to extend the evacuation period from Afghanistan after August 31 after evacuating more than 70,000 people from this country.
US President Joe Biden (Photo: Reuters).
Speaking at an online meeting with G7 leaders on August 24, US President Joe Biden said one of the main reasons why he did not change the plan to complete the evacuation campaign in Afghanistan by the end of August.
Two unnamed US officials said Washington is increasingly concerned about the risk of suicide bombings by Islamic extremists targeting Kabul airport.
`I am determined to ensure we complete this mission. I am very concerned about the increasing risks (to US soldiers) and forced to consider those risks. Those are major challenges that we face.`
Mr. Biden said that since August 14, the US has evacuated about 70,700 people and is expected to evacuate about 100,000 people until the end of this week.
However, Mr. Biden still asked the Pentagon and the US State Department to make contingency plans for the scenario where the evacuation campaign is forced to extend beyond the August 31 deadline.
US C-17 transport plane transports evacuees from Afghanistan (Photo: Reuters).
The statement was made after the Taliban warned that the US and its allies would have to `bear the consequences` if the evacuation campaign was extended beyond the August 31 deadline.
At yesterday’s press conference, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid once again emphasized that the US and its allies must end the evacuation campaign no later than August 31.
More than a week after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Kabul airport remains in chaos.
