Flight problems and capacity issues at landing sites are slowing down the evacuation operation in Afghanistan on Friday.
CNN reported that “No flights have left the Kabul airport in the last eight hours,” while NBC News reported new flights will be directed towards Europe, as Qatar is overflowing with evacuees.
“The U.S. State Department is expected to announce that its evacuation flights out of Kabul will now be able to land in Europe, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, because of an overflow of people in Qatar,” Geoff Bennett tweeted.
A Fox News reporter confirmed the “pause” in evacuation flights to Qatar is because Doha is “now full.”
Qatar Airways aircraft taking-off from the airport in Kabul. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
A separate CNN report from the airport reveals “there are 10,000 people here processed and ready to go… but nowhere to fly them to because Qatar is refusing to accept more Afghans because they’ve reached capacity.”
“It’s abysmal… someone needs to step up,” the military member told CNN.
A perhaps conflicting report to CNN’s suggests a flight has left the airport:
Media reports from Friday suggest up to 15,000 Americans are still trapped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan with Taliban roadblocks hindering advances to the airport, where about 6,000 troops who specialize in evacuations are deployed to secure the perimeter.
A US soldier shoots in the air with his pistol while standing guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. officials said Thursday that America does not have the capacity to save Americans outside the airport walls, as the French are performing with special operations.
To darken matters for the trapped Americans, the Pentagon, State Department, and White House do not know how many Americans are in the country. Media reports Tuesday suggest there are anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 citizens in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the situation at the U.S. embassy in Kabul is deteriorating. The embassy is advising that “due to large crowds and security concerns, gates may open or close without notice.”
“I am president of the United States and the buck stops with me,” Mr. Biden said July 17. “I am deeply saddened by the facts we now face, but I do not regret my decision.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø.
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