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2021-09-06 Afghanistan
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Taliban stop planes of evacuees from leaving but unclear why
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[AlAhram] Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says there are six airplanes at the Mazar-e-Sharif airport with American citizens on board, along with their Afghan interpreters, and the Taliban
...Arabic for students ...
are 'holding them hostage' right now
At least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people seeking to escape the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan have been unable to leave the country for days, officials said Sunday, with conflicting accounts emerging about why they flights weren't able to take off as pressure ramps up on the United States to help those left behind to flee.
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An Afghan official at the airport in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif said that the would-be passengers were Afghans, many of whom did not have passports or visas, and thus were unable to leave the country. He said they had left the airport while the situation was sorted out.
The top Republican on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, however, said that the group included Americans and they were sitting on the planes, but the Taliban were not letting them take off, effectively ``holding them hostage.`` He did not say where that information came from. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the accounts.
The final days of America's 20-year war in Afghanistan were marked by a harrowing airlift at Kabul's airport to evacuate tens of thousands of people _ Americans and their allies _ who feared what the future would hold, given the Taliban's history of repression, particularly of women. When the last troops pulled out on Aug. 30, though, many were left behind.
The U.S. promised to continue working with the new Taliban rulers to get those who want to leave out, and the Lions of Islam pledged to allow anyone with the proper legal documents to leave. But Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told ``Fox News Sunday`` that American citizens and Afghan interpreters were being kept on six planes.
``The Taliban will not let them leave the airport,'' he said, adding that he's worried ``they're going to demand more and more, whether it be cash or legitimacy as the government of Afghanistan.'' He did not offer more details.
The Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said it was four planes, and their intended passengers were staying at hotels while authorities worked out whether they might be able to leave the country. The sticking point, he indicated, is that many did not have the right travel papers.
Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif also said the passengers were no longer at the airport. At least 10 families were seen at a local hotel waiting, they said, for a decision on their fates. None of them had passports or visas but said they had worked for companies allied with the U.S. or German military. Others were seen at restaurants.
The small airport at Mazar-e-Sharif only recently began to handle international flights and so far only to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
 ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
. The planes in question were bound for Doha, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, the Afghan official said. It was not clear who chartered them or why they were waiting in the northern city. The massive airlift happened at Kabul's international airport, which initially closed after the U.S. withdrawal but where domestic flights have now resumed.
Searing images of that chaotic evacuation _ including people clinging to an airplane as it took off _ came to define the final days of America's longest war, just weeks after Taliban fighters retook the country in a lightning offensive.
Since their takeover, the Taliban have sought to recast themselves as different from their 1990s incarnation, when they last ruled the country and imposed repressive restrictions across society. Women and girls were denied work and education, men were forced to grow beards, and television and music were banned.
Now, the world is waiting to see the face of the new government, and many Afghans remain skeptical. In the weeks since they took power, signals have been mixed: Government employees including women have been asked to return to work, but some women were later ordered home by lower-ranking Taliban. Universities and schools have been ordered open, but fear has kept both students and teachers away.
Among the promises the Taliban have made is that once the country's airports are up and running, Afghans with passports and visas would be allowed to travel. More than 100 countries issued a statement saying they would be watching to see that the new rulers held to their commitment.
Technical teams from Qatar and Turkey arrived in recent days and are working to get the civilian airport operational.
On Saturday, state-run Ariana Airlines made its first domestic flights, which continued on Sunday. The airport is without radar facilities, so flights are restricted to daylight hours to allow for visual landing, said official Shershah Stor.
Representatives for the White House did not immediately return Insider's request for clarification on McCaul's claim Sunday.
"We understand the concern that many people are feeling as they try to facilitate further charter and other passage out of Afghanistan. However, we do not have personnel on the ground, we do not have air assets in the country, we do not control the airspace — whether over Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region," a spokesperson for the US State Department told Insider. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2021-09-06 00:00||
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