Hundreds of people took to the streets of Kabul on Thursday as Afghanistan’s annual Independence Day is met with new Taliban control of the country.
Taliban fighters cracked down on the crowds with batons and fired gunshots into the air as Afghan civilians, women included, flew the Afghanistan national flag in an apparent acts of defiance. As chaos continues to consume Afghanistan's capital city, 12 people have been killed in and around the airport there since Sunday, Taliban and NATO officials said, according toAfghans celebrate Independence Day with the national flag in streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2021.
The U.S. military said Wednesday its focus will remain on maintaining the perimeter at the airport, as opposed to sending envoys into Kabul to pick up Americans and Afghan civilians who may have difficulty getting to the airport. "I don't have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a Pentagon briefing at which officials also said"nothing" could predict the collapse of the Afghanistan government in 11 days
As the race to evacuate as many as 11,000 Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans from the country continues, the State Department on Wednesday sent an email alert to Americans in Afghanistan directing them to go to the airport but adding the U.S. “cannot provide safe passage” there.Taliban fighters display their flag while on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2021.
Since Saturday, the U.S. has evacuated nearly 6,000 people, according to the White House -- so far, falling short of the Pentagon's goal of evacuating 6,000 to 9,000 individuals a day.Afghans pass by the poster of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who fled the country after Taliban took over, as they celebrate the Independence Day in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 19, 2021. Afghanistan is celebrating the 102nd anniversary of its independence from British rule.
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