(Bloomberg) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push President Joe Biden to delay the departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan beyond the end of August to allow for more and safer evacuations of foreign nationals and their Afghan staff, a person familiar with the matter said.
Johnson has called for a virtual meeting of Group of Seven leaders Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan. Biden has also hinted the U.S. may extend the Aug. 31 deadline for a full troop withdrawal as he laid out the details on the expanded efforts to help evacuate Americans who’ve struggled to reach Kabul’s airport over the last week.
Another 7,800 people were evacuated by the U.S. and its partners over the weekend, Biden said, taking the total since Aug. 14 to more than 30,000. The Pentagon is set to mobilize civilian U.S. jetliners’ help to fly Americans and others from the country.
But the situation at the capital’s airport remained chaotic, with seven Afghan civilians reportedly killed in a stampede and Biden’s national security adviser warning there’s an “acute” threat that Islamic State will mount a terror attack.
American and German soldiers were also drawn into a firefight between Afghan security forces and “unknown” assailants at the northern end of Kabul airport, Germany’s armed forces said on Twitter Monday. One Afghan security force member was killed and three were wounded in the early morning skirmish. Some troops of the U.S.-trained Afghan military are present at the airport alongside Taliban fighters.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a series of meetings in Singapore as she tries to reassure allies of America’s role as a major trading partner that offers a reliable security presence.
Key stories and developments:
- Afghan Central Banker Sees Currency Drop, Capital Controls Ahead
- Biden Says U.S. Has Expanded Evacuation Efforts at Kabul Airport
- U.S. Sees ‘Acute’ ISIS Threat at Kabul Airport, Biden Aide Says
- China’s Warm Welcome for Taliban Sparks Backlash at Home
- Here Are the Shadowy Taliban Leaders Now Running Afghanistan
- Why Taliban Triumph Revives Fear of al-Qaeda Revival: QuickTake
- What Will the Taliban Do to a $22 Billion Economy?: Editorial
- World Must Show Afghan Girls They Aren’t Forgotten: Editorial
All items are in Eastern Time:
U.K. Minister Warns of Suicide Bombers (3:50 a.m. ET)
U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told BBC Radio on Monday there’s a “very real threat” posed by Islamic State in Kabul, and that there’s “absolutely” the risk of a suicide bombing in the vicinity of the airport.
“One of the most remarkable things about what our troops are doing is they know that there is the real threat of a suicide bomber or some other sort of threat or attack,” Heappey said. “That means that with one hand they have to have their finger on the trigger, and in the other hand they’re holding people’s babies.”
Heappey also said that people in Kabul who are on the U.K.’s no-fly list have tried to get on British evacuation flights, highlighting the need to thoroughly check credentials, “because there are people trying to take advantage of this process to get into the U.K. to cause us harm.” — Alex Morales
Harris Looks to Assure Allies on Afghan Exit (3:15 a.m. ET)
Vice President Kamala Harris sought to reassure U.S. allies in Asia over America’s commitment to the region, as she faced a volley of questions on Afghanistan during a visit to Singapore.
The vice president mentioned that the U.S. was focused on successfully completing the evacuation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have effectively taken control following 20 years of armed conflict with America. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong offered to help the U.S. with the evacuation effort. — Muneeza Naqvi
Johnson wants Biden to Delay U.S. Troop Exit (2:40 a.m. ET)
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push President Joe Biden to delay the departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan beyond the end of August in order to allow for the evacuation of more foreign nationals and their Afghan staff, a person familiar with the matter said.
Johnson will use a virtual meeting of G-7 leaders on Tuesday to make the request, as the U.K. seeks to pull thousands more people out after Kabul’s fall to the Taliban, the official said.
Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly appeared to confirm the U.K. approach, telling BBC radio late on Sunday “the more time that we’ve got, the more people we can evacuate and that’s what we’re pushing for.” — Alex Morales
Taliban Fighters Gather Near Northern Area of Resistance (2:15 a.m. ET)
Taliban are massing hundreds of fighters around the last pocket of resistance to their rule, even as they negotiate with the leaders holding out, Zabihullah Mujahed, the militant group’s spokesman, said in a phone interview Monday.
The northern Panjshir Valley is currently being held by Ahmad Massoud, son of assassinated warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud, who battled the Taliban during their five-year rule from 1996 to 2001. Massoud is backed by Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president, who fled when the militants took over capital Kabul on Aug. 15.
“The Islamic Emirate makes its best effort to peacefully resolve the issue through negotiation. Those efforts are underway,” Mujahed said, adding that representatives of Massoud and Saleh had also met top Taliban leaders in Kabul.
In an op-ed in the Washington Post last week, Massoud had written that his fighters were “prepared to once again take on the Taliban” but added that their stores of weapons and ammunition would run out “unless our friends in the West can find a way to supply us without delay.”
Taliban Seeks Cooperation With South Korea (1:50 a.m. ET)
The Taliban wants to meet with South Korean leaders and business people and strengthen economic cooperation, Yonhap News Agency said Monday, citing its interview with Abdul Kahar Balchi, a member of the militant group’s cultural commission.
Afghanistan has abundant underground resources including lithium and South Korea, a leading electronics manufacturer, can benefit from cooperating with Afghanistan, Balchi said in the interview, that was conducted via text messages. — Seyoon Kim
American, German Soldiers Drawn Into Firefight (1:30 a.m. ET)
American and German soldiers were drawn into a firefight between Afghan security forces and “unknown” assailants at the northern end of Kabul airport, Germany’s armed forces said on Twitter Monday. Some troops of the U.S.-trained Afghan military are present at the airport alongside Taliban fighters.
One Afghan security force member was killed and three others were wounded in the skirmish, which occurred at 6:13 a.m. local time. None of the German soldiers deployed at the airport were harmed. — Alexander Pearson
EU Should Take In Refugees, Luxembourg Says (1:00 a.m. ET)
The European Union is hurting its reputation by not taking in more Afghan refugees, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Monday.
“It’s really a great shame that in Europe we don’t back up talk about human rights by showing that we’re enforcing them,” Asselborn said in an interview with Germany’s DLF radio. Taking in 40,000 or 50,000 Afghan refugees “would strengthen Europe’s credibility” and failure to agree a joint policy is “short-term politics,” he added. — Iain Rogers
U.S. Releases Latest Evacuation Numbers (8:50 p.m. ET)
Since Aug. 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 30,300 people on military and coalition flights, a White House official said, adding that since the end of July, approximately 35,500 people have been relocated. — Max Zimmerman and Justin Sink
Harris Visit Shadowed by Afghanistan (7:22 p.m. ET)
Vice President Kamala Harris holds a series of meetings Monday in Singapore for a trip aimed at boosting ties with Southeast Asia that risks becoming overshadowed by questions over events in Afghanistan.
Harris, who arrived in Singapore on Sunday, will receive intelligence briefings on Afghanistan during her trip and be in regular communication with the White House, officials have said.
The White House has gone on the diplomatic offensive in Asia after years of passive U.S. engagement. Southeast Asian leaders will be looking for Harris to reassure them of America’s role as a major trading partner that offers a reliable security presence against Beijing’s assertiveness in areas like the South China Sea. — Livia Yap and Jenny Leonard
Johnson to Press Biden on Withdrawal (5:15 p.m.)
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ask President Biden for a delay to the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan at the emergency G-7 meeting, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Unless Biden commits to a delay, U.K. troops will start leaving Kabul airport within days, the newspaper said.
Biden Says Evacuation Efforts Expanded (4:53 p.m. ET)
President Biden said the U.S. may extend the Aug. 31 deadline for a full U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and promised to boost its efforts to help evacuate Americans who’ve struggled to reach Kabul’s airport.
“We’re working hard and as fast as we can to get people out,” Biden said Sunday at the White House. “That’s our mission, that’s our goal.”
Afghan Woman Gives Birth on U.S. Plane (3:10 p.m.)
An Afghan woman gave birth to a girl in the cargo bay of a U.S. evacuation plane on Saturday, moments after landing at Ramstein airbase in Germany, Air Mobility Command said on Twitter.
She went into labor during the flight and began having complications, prompting the aircraft commander to reduce altitude and increase air pressure in the plane, thereby saving the mother’s life.
UN Agencies Call for Humanitarian Airbridge (3 p.m. ET)
The World Health Organization and Unicef called for immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other supplies to millions of Afghan citizens.
“The massive humanitarian needs facing the majority of the population should not — and cannot –- be neglected,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Even before the crisis, Afghanistan represented the world’s third-largest humanitarian operation. — James Ludden
Johnson Speaks to Qatari, Turkish Leaders (2:30 p.m. ET)
Boris Johnson spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as he sought to coordinate responses to the crisis.
Erdogan and Johnson “shared the view that any new government must be representative of Afghanistan’s diverse population and protect the rights of women and minorities, and that the Taliban would be judged by their actions not their words on this,” Johnson’s office said in a statement. They also agreed countries should share the burden on aid and refugees. — Alex Morales
U.S., Partners Fly Another 7,800 Out of Kabul (11:37 a.m. ET)
The U.S. and its partners flew another 7,800 people out of Kabul in the 24 hours through 3 a.m. EDT on Sunday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN.
The U.S. military evacuated about 3,900 people, Sullivan said. A White House official said the military flew 23 flights (14 C-17s, nine C-130s) to make those evacuations. Sullivan said coalition aircraft operated by partners, foreign military, and commercial airlines flew out another 3,900 more.
Johnson Convenes G-7 for ‘Urgent Talks’ (10:15 a.m. ET)
Boris Johnson said he’ll convene G-7 leaders on Tuesday for “urgent talks” on Afghanistan, according to a Twitter post.
“It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years,” Johnson said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Biden’s attendance in a brief statement, and said the virtual gathering would build on calls made over the past week. — Colin Keatinge
Pentagon Drafts U.S. Airlines (8:00 a.m. ET)
The U.S. military told U.S. airlines to provide a total of 18 planes to aid in the Afghanistan evacuation effort, saying the extra capacity will help military aircraft focus on operations in and out of Kabul.
Activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program involves four planes from United Airlines, three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air, and two from Hawaiian Airlines, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
The aircraft won’t fly into the Kabul. They’ll be used for onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases, Kirby said. The Pentagon doesn’t anticipate a major impact on commercial flights.
U.S. carriers were told Friday night of the possible activation of the reserve fleet, a program in which airlines commit planes to be available for military airlifts in an emergency. Similar activations were made during Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-91, and for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2002-03. — Tony Czuczka
Tony Blair Laments Afghan ‘Abandonment’ (5:30 a.m. ET)
“The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours,” Tony Blair wrote on the website of his eponymous Institute for Global Change.
Blair was U.K. prime minister when the U.S. invaded in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. to remove the Taliban from power, and committed British troops to the coalition effort.
Leaving Afghanistan was a move made “in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars,’” Blair wrote. The progress of the past 20 years, Blair said, fell short of earlier hopes but were “not nothing. Something worth defending, worth protecting.” — Ros Krasny
Austria’s Leader Says He Won’t Take Refugees (4:30 a.m. ET)
Austria won’t accept Afghan asylum seekers and will instead focus on assisting them locally, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, according to excerpts of an interview published by broadcaster Puls 24.
The ruling People’s Party has taken a hard line on immigration amid international calls to help Afghans at risk of persecution after the U.S. troop withdrawal. Kurz said Austria had already made a disproportionately high contribution, with more than 40,000 Afghans accepted in the past. — Marton Eder
France Urges Coordination (3 a.m. ET)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the U.S. to do more to facilitate evacuations from Kabul and improve coordination with allies. In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Le Drian said he and “many” fellow foreign ministers have asked the U.S. to “take its responsibilities” to allow the airlifting of French nationals and Afghans who have either worked for France or are under Taliban threat.
The minister stressed that American coordination with allies must be more efficient and stronger. He said ongoing operations in Kabul should continue for “as long as needed.” — Samy Adghirni
IMF Evacuates Employees (9:53 p.m. ET)
Local employees of the International Monetary Fund were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan on Saturday, according to a spokesman for the fund. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva took to Twitter to thank Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for assisting in the airlifting of IMF staff, without elaborating.
The safety and security of staff in Afghanistan has been a particular focus for the IMF since 2014, when the nation’s senior official for the nation and four United Nations workers were among 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul. — Eric Martin
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