US President Joe Biden says he is still planning to finalise the 'heartbreaking' evacuation from Afghanistan by August 31, but leaves the door open to extending the deadline if necessary
US Marines and Norwegian coalition forces assist with security at an Evacuation Control Checkpoint ensuring evacuees are processed safely during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 20, 2021.
"We'll see what we can do," he added when asked by reporters what his reply was to foreign leaders asking for more time. He also warned of potential attacks against the crowded Kabul airport. "There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see," he said.
In an effort to ramp up the airlift, the US government ordered six airlines - American Airlines, Atlas, Delta, Omni, Hawaiian and United - to provide 18 passenger planes, supplementing an armada of Air Force cargo planes. The insurgents took over the country so rapidly that the US-led international forces previously propping up the now defunct Afghan national government were caught by surprise - and apparently unprepared to evacuate foreign nationals and Afghan allies.
There have been reports of the Taliban intimidating and beating people trying to reach the airport but US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the militants had largely been letting American passport holders through safely.
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