Further chaos continues after the US decided to withdraw from Afghanistan. The US President Joe Biden decided in mid-August to complete the evacuation of the US citizens, Afghans who were exposed to the threat of the Taliban government, and foreigners residing in Afghanistan by the end of August. More than 80,000 people including about 4,500 American citizens were evacuated on and around August 25 according to media reports. On the other hand, it is also reported that tens of thousands of evacuees are still waiting for their flights, and are petitioning the US government for the provision of their flights. I hope the US government will respond to their petitions with prestige. On August 26, a local branch of the Islamic State (IS), a Sunni jihadist group with an extreme violent ideology, carried out suicide bombing attacks against the crowds of evacuees outside the Kabul Airport. Thirteen US military soldiers were killed and 18 injured, and 60 Afghans were killed and 140 injured according to media reports. President Biden’s administration has been criticized for not providing adequate security for the evacuation.
The Japanese government also dispatched the Japan Self-Defense Forces’ three aircraft teams to Afghanistan in an attempt to evacuate the Japanese nationals, vulnerable Afghans, and foreigners residing in Afghanistan on August 23. However, their mission was interrupted on the field as people were reportedly unable to reach the Kabul Airport mainly due to the occurrence of suicide bombing attacks mentioned above. I hope the Japanese government will take sufficient measures for security and formulate a further concrete emergency plan.
