Sept 8 (Reuters) – Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled Kabul as Taliban forces reached the outskirts of the city last month, apologized on Wednesday for the abrupt fall of his government but denied that he had taken millions of dollars with him.
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Who to blame for Taliban takeover? Former Afghan envoy points finger at Kabul
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United States who left her post in July, is clearly horrified by the Taliban takeover of her country. But she is not surprised.
In an interview, Rahmani accused the former U.S.-backed government in Kabul of a failure to lead the country and of widespread corruption that ultimately paved the way for the Taliban’s victory last month.
Analysis: The West owes Qatar a favor over Afghanistan. That was the point
DUBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world’s top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the West tries to deal with the new Kabul government. This is no accident.
Analysts describe Qatar’s emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.
Afghanistan — all power to the Taliban?
The militant Islamist Taliban have named key members of their interim government in Kabul, and no one from outside the group is included. But their totalitarianism will not bring peace, writes DW’s Sandra Petersmann.
Taliban claim victory in Panjshir, resistance forces deny
Multiple sources (Guardian, VOA) report that the Taliban claim to have taken over the Panjshir valley where
The Taliban posted a video earlier showing them raising their flag in Panjsher. (BBC)
The leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) denied their announcements on Twitter:
Resettlement Support: USA
This section will be expanded as we gather more information.
Currently the US runs the following schemes to help resettle Afghan local staff of their military forces and other organisations:
Continue reading Resettlement Support: USAAfghan artists at Venice Film Festival urge world support
Afghan female filmmakers have warned Afghanistan is at risk of losing its cultural identity. They appealed for “humanitarian corridors,” the granting of political refugee status and accommodation in Europe for Afghans.
Resettlement Support: Germany
According to the German Foreign Office, between 16th August and 26th August Germany evacuated more than 5300 people from Kabul, among them 530 German citizens and 4400 Afghan nationals almost half of which were Afghan women. In addition 360 citizens of other EU member states and other countries were saved.
Continue reading Resettlement Support: GermanySpain offers itself as hub for Afghans who collaborated with EU
Spain has offered itself as the EU’s hub to take in Afghans who have collaborated with its institutions over the years, as Germany said there was an emerging consensus within the bloc to also ease passage for a limited number of other people in need of protection from Taliban reprisals.
Resettlement Schemes for Afghan Nationals
As of 31st August evacuation flights have stopped. Some countries are offering resettlement schemes and programs for Afghans who have worked with their military and other organisations (local staff) and other groups of people such as journalists, scientists, etc.
The list below points to further information about these schemes for each country. The pages contain information for people who want to leave Afghanistan as well as people in the respective countries wanting to help them, eg landlords offering accommodation.
- United Kingdom (Updated 09/09/2021)
- Germany
- France (tbc)
- United States (tbc)
- Australia