More than 100 countries, the European Union and NATO announced on Sunday 29 August that they had received assurances from the Taliban that all foreigners and Afghans with third country travel permits would be able to leave the country (https://bit.ly/3jrQFRq ).
“We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and Afghan citizens with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and to travel outside the country”, the international community said.
Stating that they are “all committed” to ensuring that their citizens, nationals and residents, employees, the Afghans who have worked with them, and those at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan, these countries and organisations said they would continue to issue travel documents to designated Afghans. “We have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries. We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding”, they added.
The evacuations, which are already complicated, particularly because of the security situation - after the attacks on 26 August and the rocket fire that targeted the airport on 30 August - are expected to become even more complicated after the withdrawal of American forces on Tuesday 31 August. Many countries have already announced that they have completed their evacuation flights, although people are still waiting to leave the country.
As this issue closes, the US was meeting with its “key partners”, including France, Germany, Italy, the EU and NATO, to discuss next steps in Afghanistan and to adopt a “unified approach” for the days and weeks ahead.
At the same time, France and the United Kingdom were expected to argue at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday for the creation of a safe zone in Kabul for humanitarian operations, under UN control. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)