August 31, 2021
3 mins read

US withdrawal from Afghanistan completed

Over the last 20 years, more than 2,400 US service members have been killed in Afghanistan alone, reports Asian Lite News

The US Central Command announced that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan has been completed, ending 20 years of Washington-led invasion of the war-torn nation.

“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and vulnerable Afghans,” Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, announced during a news conference held by the Department of Defense on Monday midnight.

“The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, this afternoon, at 3.29 p.m. East coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the space above Afghanistan,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said while the completion of withdrawal drew an end to US military presence in the war-torn nation that Washington accused of harbouring Al Qaeda, the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attack on American soil in 2001, “the diplomatic mission to ensure additional US citizens and eligible Afghans, who want to leave, continues”.

While paying tribute to the 2,461 fallen US service members, including the 13 troops who were killed during the August 27 Kabul bombings, and the over 20,000 personnel injured during the longest war Washington has engaged in throughout history, McKenzie also told reporters that no American citizens managed to embark on the final five evacuation flights leaving Kabul, meaning there were still Americans wishing to depart the country that were left on ground.

“We maintained the ability to bring them in up until immediately before departure,” McKenzie said.

“We would have been prepared to bring them on until the very last minute, but none of them made it to the airport and were able to be accommodated,” he added.

The General said the number of US citizens currently still stranded in Afghanistan is “in the very low hundreds”, stressing that the Department of State is now in charge of assisting those evacuees.

“The military’s phase of this operation has ended… The diplomatic sequel to that will now begin,” he said.

The General added that the US will continue trying to extract the remaining American citizens and “negotiate very hard and aggressively” to get eligible Afghans to come to Washington.

US media cited a State Department official as saying earlier on Monday that it was believed that there were fewer than 250 American citizens still in Afghanistan.

Taliban welcomes completion of US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Shortly after the US Central Command announced that the drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan has been completed, a Taliban spokesman on Tuesday welcomed the development.

The last US soldiers were evacuated from the Kabul airport at midnight on Monday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.

“In this way, our country became completely free and independent,” he said.

Shortly after Mujahid’s comments on social media, Taliban members took to celebratory gun firing in Kabul, which lasted for about an hour, causing panic among residents of the capital city.

Following the firing, Mujahid said in a separate tweet that “the gunshots heard in Kabul are as a result of celebratory firing, the Kabul residents should not worry, we are trying to control it”.

The formal stance of the Taliban about the US withdrawal is yet to be made amid the absence of any statement.

ALSO READ-Indians Welcome UAE Visa Rule For Vaccinated Tourists

READ MORE-Afghan situation forced every country to rethink strategies: Rajnath

Previous Story

INS Tabar reaches Algeria, undertakes Passex exercise at sea

Next Story

True number of Covid cases in Pakistan likely to be much higher: UK

Latest from -Top News

Violence against children hit unprecedented levels

In Somalia, it reported 2,568 violations against 1,992 children.In Nigeria, 2,436 grave violations were reported against 1,037 children The UN kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children’s rights

Japan Cancels U.S. Talks

The cancellation also coincides with Japan’s upcoming upper house elections on July 20, which are expected to test Ishiba’s fragile minority coalition Japan has cancelled a planned high-level security meeting with the

Modi calls Yoga a journey from ‘me’ to ‘we’

PM Modi showered praise on the Andhra Pradesh government for hosting this year’s national celebrations, commending Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan for their leadership. Prime Minister

UK unites for Yoga Day

Celebrations held across iconic landmarks and campuses under theme ‘One Earth, One Health’ The Indian diaspora and local communities across the United Kingdom gathered in large numbers on Friday to mark the

Kenya’s Odinga Slams Adani Deal U-Turn

Before the cancellation of the deal, Odinga was among the leaders who defended the Adani Group….reports Asian Lite News Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Friday expressed disappointment over the cancellation
Go toTop