Kabul, 16 agosto 2021 – La Taliban flag flies over the presidential palace in Kabul. “The war is over”, announce the conquerors of Kabul, while the president Ghani fled to Uzbekistan “to avoid a bloodbath”. The hypothesis of a transitional government lasted a few hours: the insurgents promise the rebirth of the Islamic Emirate in a city plunged into chaos with thousands of Afghans who are trying to leave the country.
Meanwhile, theevacuation of embassies and Western citizens: the first Italian airlift left Kabul yesterday evening. In the night the US troops have armored airport to manage departures safely while thousands of Afghans invade it to try to board international flights. UN secretary Guterres calls on the Taliban to “moderate”. Today meeting of Security Council.
The horror of women spoils of war
New video of the Taliban
The Taliban have launched a new video in which the deputy chief promises “serenity” to the nation and to take care of the needs of the people. “This is the hour of the test. We will provide services to our nation, give peace to the whole nation and do our best to improve people’s lives,” he says in the video, quoted by the BBC, the mullah Baradar Akhund sitting in the presidential palace surrounded by armed militiamen. “The way we arrived was unexpected and we reached this position that we didn’t expect,” Akhund says.
Civilians on the run
Stormed by civilians fleeing the Kabul airport. Afghans who try to leave the country are on the slopes and climbing the stairs of the airport’s ‘fingers’. The American soldiers have secured the perimeter of the airport, but are struggling to maintain order inside, so much so that they have come to have to firing shots in the air to stay in control.
A witness to AFP said: “I am very afraid. Shots are fired in the air. I saw a girl who was crushed and killed”. An official, quoted by the BBC, said: “The crowd was out of control. The gunshots had the sole function of calming the chaos. “The gunshots can be heard in several videos depicting the panicked crowd crowding the runways of Kabul airport. US troops have taken control of the airport, where, according to reports, priority is being given to the evacuation of diplomatic personnel on military aircraft after commercial flights have been stopped. Washington said it had rescued its embassy personnel.
Caos a Kabul
Kabul is the last city to fall after a conquest that lasted months but accelerated in recent days in view of the US military withdrawal decided by President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, in Kabul there is chaos: the remaining foreign correspondents have reported panic scenes, huge lines of runaway cars. The BBC reports that at the airport even the flight attendants have abandoned their stations to try to board, and the scenes that run on the internet show the runway crowded with people with trolleys who have also made it impossible for many to land and take off. planes. “The crowd is out of control,” an American military officer told Reuters. “We fired shots into the air to stop the panic movement.” The United States left the embassy and moved its diplomatic post to the airport. and from there they manage the evacuation of their citizens from the country.
The thought of Pope Francis
The evacuation of the Italians
The staff of the Italian embassy and fellow countrymen present in Kabul until yesterday return in the next few hours with a first flight left late yesterday and in others are expected in the next few days, the foreign minister anticipated Luigi Di Maio a Speciale Afghanistan Radio 1.
An embassy garrison will remain in Kabul with reinforced support from Rome, Di Maio said, according to whom “with such a quick surrender” reflection becomes urgent. “The situation is tragic” and our precise duty becomes collaboration with the Afghan people. In any case, “we will not abandon the Afghan people”, reiterated the Foreign Minister, first of all envisaging support actions with cooperation projects.
Even the Germans away from Kabul
German citizens are also starting to leave Kabul. Staff from the German embassy in the Afghan capital arrived in Doha early today on board an American plane, reports the Dpa agency. Also on board are four people from the Swiss representation. On Friday, Germany announced its decision to reduce the staff of its embassy in the Afghan capital to an “absolute minimum” and yesterday all staff were transferred to the Kabul airport.
Russia does not evacuate the embassy
Russia, on the other hand, will not evacuate its embassy in Kabul. Diplomatic sources told the RIA-Novosti news agency that “the evacuation of the embassy is not planned,” said Zamir Kabulov, Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan. “I am in contact with the ambassador is working and follows the tangle of events”. According to the diplomat, the Taliban would have guaranteed the security of the diplomatic headquarters in Moscow. The ambassador himself is planning a meeting with the Taliban, the embassy said.
Air links suspended
Several airlines have suspended connections with Afghanistan or changed flight plans to avoid Afghan airspace, CNN reports. Emirates announced the stop to flights to and from Kabul. Same decision for FlyDubai, as confirmed by a spokesperson. United Airlines on the other hand, he made it known that flight plans will change with a decision that particularly affects connections with India. Same choice, according to the BBC, also by British Airways e Virgin Atlantic. Air India informed CNN that the airline “is closely monitoring the situation” with the aim of continuing to guarantee flights to and from Afghanistan as long as the situation allows it.
The appeal to protect women
The coordination of the committees of ‘If not now, when’ has launched an appeal to the government and to the Italian and European parliamentarians to protect the rights of women, in particular those of Afghanistan after the reconquest of power by the Taliban. The document calls for a position by the Italian government and Europe on a number of points: “That no agreements are made in which the woman rights become a bargaining chip; the suspension of forced returns to countries where democratic freedoms are not guaranteed; the opening of humanitarian channels to welcome and protect people who do not feel their security in Afghanistan is guaranteed “.
“As Italian women who care and fight for women’s rights, we are extremely concerned about the threat that the Taliban offensive, largely predictable with the withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, represents for democratic rights of the Afghan population and in particular the rights of Afghan women to self-determination “, the coordination adds in a note. “We believe that the backwardness of the rights of Afghan women – she adds – is placed in a wider context of the risk of the backwardness of the rights of all women and of the LGBT community as we can see in Europe itself in countries such as Poland and Italy. Hungary, where in the name of protecting the values of the traditional patriarchal family the rights of individuals are compressed and where, under the pretext of respect for cultural diversity, rules that are harmful to the self-determination of individuals, especially women, are tacitly accepted “.
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