The last US soldier flew out of Kabul airport a minute before midnight local time on August 31, the deadline set by President Joe Biden, ending the 20-yr-old war. Taliban rejoiced with celebratory firing.
New Delhi: The United States has ended its evacuation mission, suspended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, and transferred diplomatic operations to Qatar, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. The US military has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan to end a brutal 20-year war, which was the longest in the United States.
“From today, we have suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred our operations to Doha, Qatar,” Blinken said, adding that Congress would be notified, quoted by PTI.
The last people to board the last Kabul evacuation flight on Monday were the commander of the U.S. military ground forces in Afghanistan and the Washington ambassador.
“In the last plane, there was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and my land force commander there,” McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon. “And he was accompanied by Ambassador Ross Wilson.”
McKenzie said they were the last on the ground at Kabul airport as the United States completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan. “The state and defense team were, in fact, the last people to board the plane,” the general said, quoted by AP.
Celebratory gunfire rang out in Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday, and enthusiastic senior Taliban officials hailed the event as a turning point.
The withdrawal came after the difficult final days of a frantic mission to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans and Afghans who had contributed to the US-led war effort – and which claimed dozens of Afghans and 13 US soldiers died in a suicide bombing last week.
The attack claimed by the Afghan branch of ISIS has given urgency to the risky US-led international airlift from Kabul, and also exposed possible problems ahead for Afghanistan as the Taliban decide to form a government and truly rule.
The pullout also came before the end of August 31, a deadline set by President Joe Biden to end America’s longest war. The war claimed the lives of more than 2,400 American servicemen.
Biden said he would address the nation in Washington on Tuesday
Taliban celebrate the departure of US troops from the country
“Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military part of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001,” AFP told AFP US General Kenneth McKenzie.
The last flight left at 19:29 GMT on Monday – just before the start of Tuesday in Kabul, he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had “achieved full independence” with the US withdrawal, and Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban official, said he was “proud” to attend ” these historic moments, “quoting AFP.
Taliban fighters watched the last US planes vanish into the sky over Afghanistan around midnight Monday, then fired into the air, celebrating victory after 20 years of insurgency that drove out the most powerful army of the world from one of the poorest countries.
The departure of US cargo planes marked the end of a massive airlift in which tens of thousands fled Afghanistan fearing the return of the Taliban regime after militants took control of most of the country and entered the capital earlier this month.
“The last five planes have left, it’s over!” said Hemad Sherzad, a Taliban fighter stationed at Kabul International Airport. “I can’t express my happiness in words. … Our 20 years of sacrifice have worked,” AP quoted.
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