US evacuates 10,400 people from Afghanistan in 24 hours in 28 military planes

USA evacuated 10,400 people from Afghanistan in 24 hours between this Sunday and Monday, which brings to 37,000 the number of individuals who have transferred out of the country since last August 14, according to the White House.

The latest evacuation figures, provided this Monday by a White House official, suggest that the Pentagon has finally exceeded its goal of removing 5,000 to 9,000 people a day from the country, after several days with a slower pace.

From 3:00 in the morning Washington time on Sunday (7:00 GMT) at the same time on Monday they boarded at the airport in Acceptance “Approximately 10,400 people” aboard 28 US military aircraft, including 25 C-17 type and three C-130, the official explained.

In the same period, a total of 61 aircraft of the international coalition that fought in the war of Afghanistan they took another 5,900 people out of the country, said the source, who requested anonymity.

The last 10,400 evacuees bring to 37,000 the number of people that the United States has removed or helped to leave Afghanistan since last August 14, the eve of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, a figure that rises to 42,000 if you start counting from the end of July, said the source.

The White House does not specify, in its regular updates on the number of evacuees, how many of them are Americans and how many are Afghans.

Thousands of people crowd at the entrance to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul with the aim of getting on one of the planes to leave the country, amid the chaos that is experienced after the takeover of the capital by the Taliban a week ago.

The United States has reached agreements with various countries, including Germany, Qatar, Spain and Bahrain, to temporarily host Afghans, applicants for special visas and Afghans at risk in transit to their territory at military bases.

US President Joe Biden said Sunday that he has not ruled out extending the August 31 deadline for evacuations at the Kabul airport, although he stressed that his “hope” is not to have to.

In an appearance at the White House, Biden added that US troops had expanded the perimeter of the airport to ensure the safety of people waiting to leave the country.

In addition, this Sunday, the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, requested the assistance of several commercial airlines of the United States in the evacuation efforts of Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Pentagon reported that the airlines American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Airlines, Omni Air, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines will participate with 18 aircraft, although it stressed that they will not fly to Kabul and will focus on “the movement of passengers from secure temporary bases and temporary transit centers ”.