According to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, around 1,500 American citizens are in Afghanistan, with about a third of them in communication with the US administration and hoping to depart in the coming days.
Mr. Blinken suggested that some of the remaining 1,000 people may not want to go, citing an ever-changing number that the Biden government has attempted to lock down as American forces wind down an evacuation mission that has clogged Kabul’s airport.
According to him, the figure excludes legal permanent residents or green card holders in the United States.
Since Aug. 14, when the Taliban launched an attack on Kabul, more than 4,500 Americans have been flown out of Afghanistan, according to Mr. Blinken. He claimed the State Department had written thousands of emails and attempted innumerable phone calls to trace Americans in the war zone like country ahead of the country’s 20-year-long conflict ending on August 31.
Mr. Blinken, on the other hand, wanted to make sure that any U.S citizens or Afghans employed directly or indirectly by the US mission and wish to depart after that date can do so. He stated, “That endeavour will continue every day.”
Officials stated on Wednesday that US and partner planes transported an extra 19,200 individuals out of Kabul in the last 24 hours, as the Biden government made significant progress in evacuating Afghans and American citizens who served for the US over the last 20 years.
On Wednesday, more than 10,000 passengers waited for planes out of Kabul’s international airport, while Afghans with appropriate paperwork continued to be allowed onto the runway, according to Pentagon officials.
Thousands of Afghans who qualify for special immigration permits are also waiting to be evacuated as President Biden’s deadline for the pullout of American forces approaches on August 31.
Since the local administration fell to Taliban troops, the US has evacuated roughly 82,300 individuals from Kabul’s international airport as of 3 a.m. in Washington.