Taliban stop planes of evacuees from leaving but unclear why

By KATHY GANNON

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At slightest 4 planes chartered to evacuate respective 100 radical seeking to flight the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan person been incapable to permission the state for days, officials said Sunday, with conflicting accounts emerging astir wherefore they flights weren’t capable to instrumentality disconnected arsenic unit ramps up connected the United States to assistance those near down to flee.

An Afghan authoritative astatine the airdrome successful the bluish metropolis of Mazar-e-Sharif said that the would-be passengers were Afghans, galore of whom did not person passports oregon visas, and frankincense were incapable to permission the country. He said they had near the airdrome portion the concern was sorted out.

The apical Republican connected the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, however, said that the radical included Americans and they were sitting connected the planes, but the Taliban were not letting them instrumentality off, efficaciously “holding them hostage.” He did not accidental wherever that accusation came from. It was not instantly imaginable to reconcile the accounts.

The last days of America’s 20-year warfare successful Afghanistan were marked by a harrowing airlift astatine Kabul’s airdrome to evacuate tens of thousands of radical — Americans and their allies — who feared what the aboriginal would hold, fixed the Taliban’s past of repression, peculiarly of women. When the past troops pulled retired connected Aug. 30, though, galore were near behind.

The U.S. promised to proceed moving with the caller Taliban rulers to get those who privation to permission out, and the militants pledged to let anyone with the due ineligible documents to leave. But Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told “Fox News Sunday” that American citizens and Afghan interpreters were being kept connected six planes.

“The Taliban volition not fto them permission the airport,” helium said, adding that he’s disquieted “they’re going to request much and more, whether it beryllium currency oregon legitimacy arsenic the authorities of Afghanistan.” He did not connection much details.

The Afghan official, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that of the sensitivity of the subject, said it was 4 planes, and their intended passengers were staying astatine hotels portion authorities worked retired whether they mightiness beryllium capable to permission the country. The sticking point, helium indicated, is that galore did not person the close question papers.

Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif besides said the passengers were nary longer astatine the airport. At slightest 10 families were seen astatine a section edifice waiting, they said, for a determination connected their fates. None of them had passports oregon visas but said they had worked for companies allied with the U.S. oregon German military. Others were seen astatine restaurants.

The tiny airdrome astatine Mazar-e-Sharif lone precocious began to grip planetary flights and truthful acold lone to Turkey. The planes successful question were bound for Doha, Qatar, the Afghan authoritative said. It was not wide who chartered them oregon wherefore they were waiting successful the bluish city. The monolithic airlift happened astatine Kabul’s planetary airport, which initially closed aft the U.S. withdrawal but wherever home flights person present resumed.

Searing images of that chaotic evacuation — including radical clinging to an airplane arsenic it took disconnected — came to specify the last days of America’s longest war, conscionable weeks aft Taliban fighters retook the state successful a lightning offensive.

Since their takeover, the Taliban person sought to recast themselves arsenic antithetic from their 1990s incarnation, erstwhile they past ruled the state and imposed repressive restrictions crossed society. Women and girls were denied enactment and education, men were forced to turn beards, and tv and euphony were banned.

Now, the satellite is waiting to spot the look of the caller government, and galore Afghans stay skeptical. In the weeks since they took power, signals person been mixed: Government employees including women person been asked to instrumentality to work, but immoderate women were aboriginal ordered location by lower-ranking Taliban. Universities and schools person been ordered open, but fearfulness has kept some students and teachers away.

Women person demonstrated peacefully, immoderate adjacent having conversations astir their rights with Taliban leaders. But immoderate person been dispersed by Taliban peculiar forces firing successful the air.

Some signs of normalcy person besides begun to return. Kabul’s streets are again clogged with traffic, arsenic Taliban fighters patrol successful pickup trucks and constabulary vehicles — brandishing their automatic weapons and flying the Taliban’s achromatic flag. Schools person opened, and moneychangers enactment the thoroughfare corners.

Among the promises the Taliban person made is that erstwhile the country’s airports are up and running, Afghans with passports and visas would beryllium allowed to travel. More than 100 countries issued a connection saying they would beryllium watching to spot that the caller rulers held to their commitment.

Technical teams from Qatar and Turkey arrived successful caller days and are moving to get the civilian airdrome operational.

On Saturday, state-run Ariana Airlines made its archetypal home flights, which continued connected Sunday. The airdrome is without radar facilities, truthful flights are restricted to daylight hours to let for ocular landing, said authoritative Shershah Stor.

Several countries person besides been bringing successful humanitarian supplies. The Gulf authorities of Qatar, wherever the Taliban maintained a governmental bureau since 2013, is making regular flights into Kabul, delivering humanitarian assistance for the war-weary nation. Bahrain besides announced humanitarian assistance deliveries.

Meanwhile, the Taliban stepped up an battle connected the past remaining pouch of absorption being led by fighters opposed to their rule.

The anti-Taliban fighters successful Panjshir province, northbound of the Afghan capital, are being led by erstwhile vice president Amrullah Saleh, who has appealed for humanitarian assistance to assistance the thousands of radical displaced by the fighting.

A elder Taliban spokesperson tweeted Sunday that Taliban troops had overrun Rokha district, 1 of largest of 8 districts successful Panjshir. Several Taliban delegations person attempted negotiations with the holdouts there, but talks person failed to summation traction.

Fahim Dashti, the spokesperson for the radical that is warring the Taliban, was killed successful a conflict connected Sunday, according to the group’s Twitter account. Dashti was the dependable of the radical and a salient media property during erstwhile governments.

He was besides the nephew of Abdullah Abdullah, a elder authoritative of the erstwhile authorities who is progressive successful negotiations with the Taliban connected the aboriginal of Afghanistan.

Saleh fled to Panjshir aft Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discontinue Afghanistan arsenic the Taliban marched connected the capital. The fighters’ lightning blitz crossed the state took little than a week to overrun immoderate 300,000 authorities troops, astir of whom surrendered oregon fled.

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Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Tameem Akhgar successful Istanbul contributed to this report.