7.27pm EDT
19:27
And some moving news:
We are receiving multiple reports that an Australian military evacuation mission has left Afghan airspace, having flown out of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai Airport. Details of the mission are unclear, we are seeking those.
7.18pm EDT
19:18
Just to revisit some of those recent developments:
The US Air Force said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding human remains that were found in the wheel well of one of its C-17s that flew out of Kabul amid the chaos of the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital, Reuters reports.
Images circulated on social media earlier this week of Afghans desperate to leave Kabul rushing toward a C-17 and clinging to its side.
A separate video showed what appeared to be two people falling from a military plane as it flew out of Kabul.
“Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
It added that the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigation was reviewing information about the aircraft and the “loss of civilian lives – to include video documentation and the source of social media posts”.
7.08pm EDT
19:08
Hello, and welcome to our continuing coverage of the fall of Kabul, and the crisis in Afghanistan. This is Ben Doherty joining you from Sydney.
To begin, a summary of recent developments:
The US Air Force has said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding human remains that were found in the wheel well of one of its C-17s that flew out of Kabul amid the chaos of the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul it would seek no “revenge” against those who had opposed them. “The Islamic Emirate – after the freedom of this nation – is not going to revenge anybody, we do not have any grudges against anybody. We have pardoned anyone, all those who have fought against us.”
The UN human rights council is to hold a special session next week on the situation in Afghanistan to address “serious human rights concerns” after the Taliban takeover, a United Nations statement said. The Geneva forum will convene on 24 August at the request of Pakistan and nearly 90 other countries supporting the move, it said.
The Afghan vice-president, Amrullah Saleh, said on Twitter on Tuesday he is in Afghanistan and is the “legitimate caretaker president”. Former president Ashraf Ghani fled the country amid the Taliban advance and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the Nato military alliance, has blamed the swift collapse of Afghanistan’s armed forces on a failure of leadership in the country. “The Afghan leadership failed to stand up… this failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today.”
US president Joe Biden and British prime minister Boris Johnson discussed Afghanistan on Tuesday and announced a virtual summit of the G7 leaders on the crisis, the White House said. “They agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders’ meeting next week to discuss a common strategy and approach,” the White House said in a statement.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish