Over 21,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan in 24 hours by US, allies

The White House said that close to 21,600 people have been successfully evacuated out of Afghanistan in the 24-hour period from early Monday that ended earlier on Tuesday.

The United States on Tuesday said that more than 21,000 people have been flown safely out of Afghanistan in the 24 hours. The White House said that close to 21,600 people have been successfully evacuated out of Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in the 24-hour period from early Monday that ended earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported.

More than 58,000 people have been evacuated by the US since August 14. In picture - Families board a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. (AFP)

Also, 37 US military flights, comprising 32 C-17s and five C-130s, were deployed to carry approximately 12,700 people and another 8,900 people were carried by flights belonging to US allies. This has been the highest number of people flown out by the US in a single day since the operations began, the report further showed.

While the evacuation has been continuing since the Taliban laid siege on the capital city of Kabul early last week, more than 58,000 people have been evacuated by the US since August 14. Moreover, for the first time, the number of people flown out of the country has exceeded the US projections, the report also showed.

The evacuation in Afghanistan continues even as August 31, the deadline agreed by US President Joe Biden for a complete pullout of the US troops, approaches. Diplomats, officials, civilians and Afghan nationals who helped the troops are being evacuated out of the country. Meanwhile, some of the countries that are involved in the operations have expressed concerns about safely removing all their people from the country.

Germany on Tuesday said that all Afghan citizens who wish to flee Kabul could not be flown out of the country before August 31. “Even if (the evacuation) goes on until August 31 or even a few days longer, it will not be enough to allow those who we, or the United States, want to fly out,” news agency AFP quoted German foreign minister Heiko Maas as saying, earlier in the day.

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Further, the Group of Seven (G7) countries are scheduled to meet on the day to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, during which UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to push Biden for an extension of the August 31 deadline to complete the operations.

However, the Taliban had previously said that the date is a “red line” that the US should not cross and extended American presence in Afghanistan would “provoke a reaction,” the AP reported.

Amidst the chaos around the situation, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William J Burns had reportedly met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday, the Washington Post reported citing US officials familiar with the matter. The report also said that the discussion was likely around the deadline for the US’ evacuation process.