Kabul evacuations continue, deadline nears — as it happened

• Germany may end evacuations in the next few days
• US told its allies to wrap up rescue missions by Friday, Belgium minister says
• Merkel addresses the Bundestag over rescue operation
• Russia sends planes to evacuate more than 500 people

These updates are now closed. Read more on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan here.

Allies join US in warning of terror threat at Kabul airport

Britain and Australia cited the "high threat" of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport, echoing the fears of the US embassy.

A flurry of near-identical travel warnings from London, Canberra and Washington, all urging people gathered in the area to vacate and move to a safe location, has only increased the tension for fearful citizens as they try to flee Taliban rule.

US State Department issues Kabul airport security alert

The US embassy in Kabul has advised US citizens not to travel to Hamid Karzai International Airport at this time due to unspecified "security threats" outside the gates. 

Citizens already at the airport's Abbey Gate, East Gate and North Gate have been advised to leave "immediately."

Belgium ends evacuations

Belgium is the latest European nation to end its evacuations from Kabul.  

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a post on Twitter that Belgium was ending its evacuations in consultation with European partners, "given the development of the situation in Afghanistan."

Belgian military planes flew about 1,100 people out of Kabul via Islamabad between Friday and Tuesday evening, including European citizens, as well as at-risk Afghans and their families.

Hungary will soon end its evacuation flights after extracting more than 500 people from Kabul in recent days, the country's foreign minister said.

Poland and the Czech Republic have already ended their flights ahead of the August 31 US deadline.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander on Ramstein evacuees

US General Tod Wolters, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, told a briefing at the Pentagon via video that there have been zero security incidents involving those airlifted to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany where "an evacuee exhibits malign behavior, and we have to put him in a holding cell."

Wolters described the operation as "building towards a plateau" where he expects the number of people evacuated over the past 24 to 48 hours to be in line with the number of evacuations to come over the next several days.

Of 7,000 Afghans receiving medical screening for COVID-19 and other ailments on arrival at Ramstein, he said 100 required additional tests. From there, less than 25 required additional medical treatment at the nearby Landstuhl medical center located 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the base. 

Fifty-two individuals of the 7,000 evacuees at Ramstein required further security screening. Wolters said they were cleared by various US government agencies including the Department of Defense upon further screening.

Currently the US military expects to host evacuees in transit for approximately 10 to 14 days and that is not expected to change.

1,500 US citizens remain in Afghanistan

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he believes there are about 1,500 US citizens still in Afghanistan. About 4,500 US citizens have already been evacuated since the Taliban reclaimed the capital on August 14, he told reporters.

He said the Taliban had pledged to allow safe passage for Americans and at-risk Afghans after the August 31 US withdrawal deadline. 

German chancellor candidate criticizes US withdrawal

Armin Laschet, who is running as the replacement for Angela Merkel in Germany's September election, has criticized the United States for plans to withdraw by August 31. 

"The airlift is such a good idea," the Christian Democrat leader said. "Because the Americans saved us once before 70 years ago with an airlift in free Berlin, I am all the more disappointed that the Americans are now withdrawing so quickly from Kabul. More than 10,000 people are now waiting at the airport and we must not abandon them."

He called on European Union member states to work together to secure the airport in the future, even without the US.

Turkey pulling out of Afghanistan

Turkish forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan, dropping their mission of protecting Kabul's airport.

"The Turkish Armed Forces are returning to our homeland with the pride of successfully fulfilling the tasks entrusted to it," the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Muslim-majority nation had more than 500 non-combat troops as part of the former NATO mission. It had previously said it could maintain a presence at Kabul airport and was negotiating with the Taliban and Washington.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was maintaining communication with Taliban leaders and wanted to keep playing a role in Afghanistan,

"It is important for Afghanistan to stabilize," Erdogan said as the troop withdrawal was announced. "Turkey will continue to be in close dialogue with all parties in Afghanistan in line with this goal."

UN Human Rights Council 'not doing enough for Afghanistan'

Shaharzad Akbar, chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, told DW on Wednesday that the United Nations Human Rights Council "is not doing enough for Afghanistan."

"It's not acknowledging the great gravity of the situation," she said. "The fact is that Afghanistan is facing a human rights crisis." 

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution during a special session on Tuesday that underlined its "unwavering commitment to the rights of women and girls," and called for a "transparent and prompt investigation" into violations in Afghanistan. 

But it did not order an international investigation and was criticized by rights groups for not going far enough.    

"Half of the population of the country — women — are being deprived of their basic human rights and minorities are at risk," Shaharzad Akbar said. "Human rights defenders and journalists fear for their lives." 

"And it's in this context that we have asked for a very strong monitoring mechanism," she told DW. "But the response of the council was extremely insufficient. It was basically business as usual."

Germany will get allied Afghans out after August 31

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Germany's promise to take in former Afghan staff will hold after the August 31 deadline for evacuations from Kabul airport.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said, "Those who are entitled to come to Germany can rely on this promise, it remains valid indefinitely, we will provide all support."

Germany has so far evacuated 5,193 people from Kabul, including more than 3,600 Afghans.

Journalists report being denied access to Kabul

A German journalist says reporters seeking to leave Kabul's airport to report on events in the city are being blocked by US officials. 

"We are being held like criminals by US soldiers and are now being escorted to the plane to Doha," Paul Ronzheimer, the deputy editor-in-chief of German tabloid Bild, reported on Twitter. 

Ronzheimer said 10 international journalists had been escorted onto the plane, even though they had "a secure way out of the airport towards the city."

"We did NOT want to stay at the airport, but to go to Kabul to report on the situation," he wrote. 

Another journalist, who regularly works with The Guardian newspaper, also said she was also forcefully instructed to get onto an evacuation flight.

Pentagon: Helicopter mission brings evacuees to Kabul

The Pentagon says US helicopter crews have carried out a third mission to retrieve people from Kabul and bring them to the airport. The latest helicopter rescue involved fewer than 20 individuals.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said 88,000 people had been evacuated so far from Kabul airport. Of those, 58,000 to 60,000 were brought out by the US military. On Tuesday, 90 flights airlifted 19,000 evacuees from Kabul.

"If you're an evacuee that we can get out, we're going to continue to get you out right up until the end," Kirby said. "But in the last couple of days ... we will begin to prioritize military capabilities and military resources to move out." 

UK Defense Ministry backtracks, allows animals to be evacuated 

The UK reversed course to allow Paul "Pen" Farthing, who owns an animal shelter in Afghanistan, to evacuate his animals as well as staff to the UK.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace previously said it would be "wrong to prioritize pets over people," before announcing Wednesday, "if he [Farthing] arrives with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane." 

Farthing, a former marine, says he can fit some 200 dogs and cats in the hold of his 250-seat, crowd-funded charter plane along with 25 staff members, including three of Afghanistan's first female veterinarians, and their immediate families. All have been granted visas for the UK.

"I had an opportunity, the fact that I am a British citizen, I'm going to use that to full effect — so I've said I'm not going until my staff leave this country," said the army veteran.

Farthing, who fought in Helmand Province until 2006, started the "Nowzad" animal shelter — named after his first rescued dog — in 2007.

Poland ends evacuation operations, France to follow suit

Poland on Wednesday announced that a flight carrying Afghans to Uzbekistan would be the last in its mission. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said, "After a long analysis of reports on the security situation we cannot risk the lives of our diplomats and of our soldiers any longer." A small number of Polish troops will remain in Afghanistan to complete withdrawal operations according to Przydacz. 

Poland has thus become one of the first Western countries to end evacuation operations.

France, too has said that it expects to end operations within hours or days according to a government spokesman. The Czech Republic ended its operations last week.    

US has evacuated over 80,000

A White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, announced on Twitter that the US and coalition forces evacuated around 19,000 people in 24 hours yesterday. That brings the total number of people evacuated from Kabul airport since the Taliban's takeover to over 82,000.

Merkel addresses German lawmakers

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed lawmakers in the Bundestag over the ongoing rescue operations from Kabul airport. The Cabinet launched the mission last week before retroactively seeking confirmation from parliament.

She said that the evacuation flights would end in the next few days. Earlier media reports suggested they could end as early as Friday or even Wednesday.

During the debate Merkel countered criticism of Germany's Afghanistan mission, saying it hadn't been in vain.

She cited the fact that child mortality in the country had been halved over the course of 20 years, that 70% of Afghans now have access to clean drinking water and more than 90% now have electricity.

Still, she acknowledged the Taliban as a "reality" in Afghanistan today. She told lawmakers that many Afghans were fearful and that this was something politicians needed to grapple with. 

Germany may soon end evacuations

German media reported on Wednesday that German evacuation flights from Kabul airport could end as early as Friday.

A correspondent for the German public broadcaster ARD said that the rescue flights between Kabul and Tashkent may even come to an end on Wednesday.

However, Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said, according to Reuters, that: "As long as it is responsible, we will evacuate people. But that can only be done together with the USA." 

German military flights have evacuated over 4,600 German citizens and at-risk locals so far, according to the German defense ministry. The Bundeswehr will need time to evacuate its own personnel from the airport before the 6,000 US troops finish their own withdrawal on August 31.

China and Russia agree to strengthen cooperation 

Chinese state media reported Wednesday that President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke via telephone to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation not only with one another but also with the wider international community.

State broadcaster Xinhua said the leaders encouraged all parties in Afghanistan to work toward creating open political structures, to pursue moderate domestic and foreign policy and to distance themselves from all terrorist groups. 

Belgium: US told allies to end evacuations on Friday

Belgium's Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder told local newspapers L'Echo and De Tijd that the US has made it clear to its coalition partners who are still evacuating people from Kabul that they should wrap up their "noncombatant evacuation operations" by Friday, August 27.

The US has insisted on pulling out its 6,000 troops from Kabul airport by August 31. The military forces will require several days to complete the evacuation of military personnel and equipment meaning that rescue operations will have to end before that.

UK to maintain operations up to the last minute

The UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC on Wednesday that although he could not give a "precise timeline" for the UK to leave Kabul airport, it was "clear that the troops will be withdrawn by the end of the month."

He said that the operation would need to wind down to evacuate military personnel working at the airport, but that the UK would "make the maximum use of the time left."

The comment comes a day after the UK failed to convince US President Joe Biden to extend the evacuation deadline.

Raab also said that British forces have managed to airlift 9,000 British citizens and locals since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15.

Mexico, Uganda and Bulgaria welcome Afghan refugees

Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard welcomed six Afghan refugees as they landed at Mexico City airport on Tuesday. "Welcome to your home," Ebrard told them.

Five of the arrivals were women who had won a robotics competition. They fled Afghanistan earlier in the month and passed through six countries before arriving in Mexico.

A flight carrying 51 Afghans also landed in Uganda on Wednesday morning. Kampala agreed to accept "at-risk" Afghan nationals temporarily while they wait to be transferred to the US or other destinations.

The US embassy in Kampala thanked the east African country for its "generosity and hospitality toward these communities."

Bulgaria on Wednesday announced that it would grant asylum to some 70 Afghans and their families. This comes on top of the country's pledge to take in Afghans who assisted Bulgaria's mission. Though he did not offer specifics, caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said, "Their evacuation from Afghanistan will be a challenge but with arrangements in place I hope that we will be successful."

Russia sends planes to evacuate more than 500 people

Four Russian military aircraft have been sent to Kabul to evacuate more than 500 people, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

They were sent on there on the orders of President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The report said the mission was to evacuate Russian nationals, but also citizens of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Germany's Maas speaks to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted late on Tuesday that he had held talks with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken.

Berlin's top diplomat said they discussed the "ongoing evacuation" and "further departure options for Afghans" who want to flee their homeland.

The Social Democrat politician said the pair also focused on how to deal with the Taliban, the hardline Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan.

Paralympians leave Afghanistan

Two Paralympians from Afghanistan have left the country, according to the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday.

Afghanistan's team for the event was made up of female para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and male track athlete Hossain Rasouli.

The IPC said the pair were receiving counseling, but could not confirm if they would be able to travel to Japan.

On Tuesday, a group of female Afghan athletes left for Australia.

Afghanistan made its Paralympic debut at Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games and with the exception of the Sydney 2000, they have participated in every edition but have never won a Paralympic medal.

Tuesday's key developments

Welcome to DW's rolling coverage of the Afghanistan crisis. Here is a wrap of Tuesday's main developments.

US President Joe Biden said that the US and its allies were on track to leave Afghanistan by August 31.

A push by G-7 leaders for President Biden to extend the deadline failed after talks during a virtual summit on Afghanistan.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas used one of his regular media appearances to warn that the West may fail to complete all evacuations by the end of the month.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned the Taliban that respecting women's rights would be "a fundamental red line" for the international community.

jsi, aw, ab, jf/rt (Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP)