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Afghanistan - Not a political thread: Potential large public health threat as government falls - August 15, 2021 - population total is approx. 38 million

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  • Afghanistan - Not a political thread: Potential large public health threat as government falls - August 15, 2021 - population total is approx. 38 million


    15 Aug 2021

    The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan’s Jalalabad without a fight, according to officials and a resident, effectively leaving the capital Kabul as the last major urban area under government control.

    The key eastern city, which is also the capital of Nangarhar province, fell early on Sunday morning. It’s capture followed the Taliban’s seizure of the major northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

    more..

    Taliban capture of Jalalabad effectively leaves Kabul as the last major urban area under government control.


    ----------------------------------------

    Apparently some governors handed their areas over to government opposition forces to avoid mass casualties of civilians.

  • #3
    Apparently the government has fallen. The population of Afghanistan is 38 million. There are rumors that the COVID-19 vaccines will be banned. I can not verify this.

    Afghan President Said to Have Fled as Taliban Enter Kabul

    snip

    With rumors rife and reliable information hard to come by, the streets were filled during the day with scenes of panic and desperation.

    “Greetings, the Taliban have reached the city. We are escaping,” said Sahraa Karimi, the head of Afghan Film, in a post shared widely on Facebook. Filming herself as she fled on foot, out of breath and clutching at her headscarf, she shouted at others to escape while the could.

    “Hey woman, girl, don’t go that way,” she called out. “Some people don’t know what is going on,” she went on. “Where are you going? Go quickly.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08...ghanistan-news

    Comment


    • #4
      This picture reminds me of the airlift out of Saigon as communist forces were rushing in:

      https://twitter.com/IhsanTipu/status...226753/photo/1

      https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status...48508289011712



      Frightening public health situation.
      Last edited by sharon sanders; August 16, 2021, 07:18 AM. Reason: typo

      Comment


      • #5
        Security Alert – U. S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan


        Home | News & Events | Security Alert – U. S. Embassy Kabul, AfghanistanLocation: Kabul

        Event: The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly including at the airport. There are reports of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place.

        U.S. citizens wanting assistance in departing the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States, and must complete thisRepatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group. Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas should also complete this form if they wish to depart. Please do so as soon as possible. You must complete this form even if you’ve previously submitted your information to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight. This form is the only way to communicate interest in flight options.

        Assistance:


        By U.S. Embassy in Kabul | 15 August, 2021 | Topics: Alert

        "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
        -Nelson Mandela

        Comment


        • #6
          Truly wonderful, Kafka could not have done better.
          The place is falling under assault and the Embassy staff is evacuating, but '
          U.S. citizens wanting assistance in departing the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States, and must complete this Repatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group. '

          Comment


          • #7
            Doubt the Taliban will be interested in eradicating polio or improving the lot of women or preservation of ancient monuments....never mind Covid. A tragedy that has implications for all of humanity.

            Comment


            • #8
              The bill along with the benefits belong to China now.

              Introduction On February 29, U.S. and Taliban representatives signed the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” in Doha, Qatar, which laid out a framework for ending the 18-year old conflict in Afghanistan  (U.S. State Department, February 29). Despite skepticism in many quarters regarding the viability of the deal, the negotiations leading to the agreement have been supported by many international …

              China’s Deepening Diplomatic and Economic Engagement in Afghanistan
              Publication: China Brief Volume: 20 Issue: 6
              By: Syed Fazl-e Haider
              April 1, 2020 03:41 PM Age: 1 year

              ...
              As the U.S plans to draw down its forces in Afghanistan—a key element of the February 29 deal—China is set to further deepen its involvement in Afghanistan (Nikkei Asian Review, January 14, 2019). Beijing wishes to achieve at least two key objectives. First, it wants once and for all to block any contact between the Taliban and ethnic Uighur Muslim militants seeking independence from China (China Brief, April 24, 2019). Second, the PRC wants long-term stability in Afghanistan in order to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—to the war-wracked country. Beijing sees Afghanistan as a primary link between the Central Asian republics and the CPEC (China Brief, December 10, 2019). To achieve its objectives, Beijing has pursued positive engagement with the Taliban movement that controls more than half of Afghanistan’s territory. These ties have increased over the past couple of years: for example, in 2019 Taliban representatives paid at least two visits to Beijing (in June and September) for talks with PRC officials (CGTN, June 20, 2019; Al-Jazeera, September 23, 2019)...


              How does the Taliban make money?
              August 15, 2021

              ...
              According to the most recent data from the World Bank, the Afghan government spent $11 billion in 2018, of which 80% came from foreign aid.
              ...
              As for potentially losing out on billions of dollars in foreign aid, Levitt said the Taliban could survive that.
              The country as a whole, “not so much,” he added. “But that’s not their [the Taliban’s] goal post.”...
              _____________________________________________

              Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

              i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

              "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

              (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
              Never forget Excalibur.

              Comment


              • #9
                Possible stampede at airport reported as people try to escape.



                Al Jazeera English

                @AJEnglish
                Replying to
                @AJEnglish
                At least 5 people killed in Kabul airport as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the Afghan capital, witnesses tell news media. One witness said it's unclear whether victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede.

                Comment


                • #10
                  I am really having a hard time staying within our guidelines on this thread. There are pictures of at least one person dropping off a departing airplane. There is some news that Germany wants to get about 10k people out in the midst of this chaos. Not to mention the fate of people left behind.....

                  I think we are witnessing a huge & preventable public health debacle developing. I am just sick about it.

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    I just want to say that regular US citizens have no power to change anything that our government does. We sit in horror and watch along with the rest of the world.

                    What is going on right now as the US abruptly departs Afghanistan is a perfect example why the typical US citizen does not believe anything that our government says to us. You want to know why people are vaccine resistant despite data that shows deaths are decreased?

                    No faith.

                    Comment


                    • #12

                      Afghanistan: International community must act decisively to avert further tragedy

                      16 August 2021, 13:35 UTC

                      Responding to the collapse of the Afghan government following the seizure of power by the Taliban and the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands of people attempt to leave the country, Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

                      “What we are witnessing in Afghanistan is a tragedy that should have been foreseen and averted. It will only be compounded further without swift and decisive action from the international community. Thousands of Afghans at serious risk of Taliban reprisals - from academics and journalists to civil society activists and women human rights defenders - are in danger of being abandoned to a deeply uncertain future.

                      “Foreign governments must take every necessary measure to ensure the safe passage out of Afghanistan for all those at risk of being targeted by the Taliban. This includes expediting visas, delivering support for evacuations from Kabul airport, providing relocation and resettlement, and suspending all deportations and forced returns. We urge the US to provide continued security at the airport while evacuations are ongoing.

                      more..

                      https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...rther-tragedy/

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        The US should have been out of Afghanistan many years ago, but the manner of this departure, without protecting as many Afghans as possible, is unforgivable.


                        Reported by CNN -


                        23 min ago

                        Americans in Kabul, should "shelter," and avoid the airport, State Department spokesperson says


                        From CNN's Josiah Ryan



                        Americans remaining in Kabul should not travel to the airport, which is under the control of US military forces, but instead "shelter" and wait for further instructions, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said this afternoon.

                        "The situation is evolving quickly, and we will communicate information to US citizens as rapidly as possible," said Price, speaking from the State Department this afternoon. "We are asking US citizens to shelter and not to travel to the airport until they hear otherwise from the Department of State," he continued.

                        more...

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Malala: 'Futures of Afghan child refugees aren't lost'

                          7 hours ago
                          BBC News

                          In an exclusive interview, Nobel peace laureate, Malala Yousafzai, has told the BBC that countries need to open their borders to Afghan refugees, following the fall of the country's government to the Taliban.

                          Nobel peace laureate, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012.



                          Comment


                          • #15
                            President Macron pledges 'robust, coordinated and united' European response to stop waves of Afghan migrants heading to the West and says Taliban territories cannot become 'sanctuary for terrorists'

                            PUBLISHED: 16:57 EDT, 16 August 2021 | UPDATED: 18:17 EDT, 16 August 2021
                            By PETER ALLEN IN PARIS and JACK WRIGHT
                            • Emmanuel Macron has vowed a 'robust, coordinated and united' European response to Afghanistan crisis
                            • French President has pledged effort to stop waves of Afghan migrants fleeing Taliban heading to the West
                            • He warned that Afghanistan is on course to become 'sanctuary' for terrorists and people-smugglers
                            • 'This is key for international security and peace,' Macron said from presidential summer residence Monday
                            https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ding-West.html

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