Original title: Foreign media: Taliban approaching Kabul makes the West nervous, US lawmakers urge air strikes Source: Reference News Network
Reference News Network reported on August 15 According to a Reuters report in Washington on August 13, McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party in the U.S. Senate, said on Friday local time that it is not too late to prevent the Taliban from occupying Kabul. He urged the Biden government to use airstrikes to “frustrate” the Taliban offensive and provide support to the Afghan army defending Kabul.
McConnell said that he made the statement after talking to the Afghan ambassador to the United States Adela Raz.
According to a report from Agence France-Presse in London on August 13, British Prime Minister Johnson vowed on Friday that the United Kingdom would not abandon Afghanistan, but he confirmed that in the face of the rapid attack by the Taliban, most of the embassy staff in Afghanistan will soon be withdrawn.
According to reports, the United Kingdom is deploying about 600 military personnel to assist in the evacuation of about 3,000 nationals from Afghanistan. Johnson said that “a large portion” of the embassy staff still in Kabul will return to the UK.
In addition, according to a report from Agence France-Presse on August 13 in Berlin, as Taliban fighters are advancing to the Afghan capital, German Foreign Minister Heiko Mas said on Friday that Germany will reduce the number of staff in the embassy in Kabul to “absolutely minimum.” s level.
Maas told reporters that the evacuation will take place “in the next few days” after similar actions taken by the United States and the United Kingdom. He also said that the German embassy will “continue to play its role.”
The German foreign minister said that the chartered flight that has been arranged will arrive early in order to evacuate the German embassy staff “and local staff still in Afghanistan” to Germany.
Maas reiterated the appeal issued by the German Interior Ministry on Thursday, demanding that all German citizens still in Afghanistan leave the country immediately.
According to a Reuters report from Copenhagen on August 13, Denmark and Norway said on Friday that due to the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan, they will temporarily close the embassy in Kabul and withdraw their staff.
The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeppe Kofferd, told reporters: “We have decided to temporarily close the embassy in Kabul.” He also said that the evacuation will be carried out in close coordination with Norway, and the two Nordic countries share the same premises.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Ina Sered subsequently said that Norway will also close the embassy and evacuate Norwegian diplomats, local employees and their close relatives.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said in a statement that Finland will organize a chartered flight to evacuate 130 Afghans, including those working for Finland, the European Union or NATO and their close relatives. The Embassy of Finland in Kabul is temporarily closed.
According to a Reuters report in Zurich on August 13, the Swiss government said on Friday that it would withdraw the remaining Swiss staff of the Afghan Cooperation Agency in view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
According to reports, after the earlier withdrawal, the Cooperation Bureau has only three Swiss staff members left. “They will also leave Kabul as soon as possible,” said Livia Roy, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation at a press conference in Bern.
The report also stated that the Swiss Agency for Cooperation in Afghanistan is in charge of development and humanitarian aid projects.
In addition, according to a Reuters report in Paris on August 13, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated on Friday that it recommended that French citizens leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.
In response to a written question on whether France intends to withdraw its embassy staff and citizens from Afghanistan, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying: “In view of the deterioration of the security situation, we have once again called on French citizens to leave the country as soon as possible last week.”
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