US in final phase of Kabul evacuations, Taliban prepares govt

US forces are now in the final phase of pulling out of Kabul, ending two decades of costly involvement in Afghanistan, as the country’s new Taliban rulers prepare to take control of the airport.

Just over 1,000 civilians remained at the airport on Sunday to be flown out before the troops finally leave, a Western security official told Reuters.

“We want to ensure that every foreign civilian and those who are at risk are evacuated today. Forces will start flying out once this process is over,” said the official, who is stationed at the airport.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said he will stick by his deadline to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Tuesday. A U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday that fewer than 4,000 troops remained at the airport.

U.S. and allied forces have mounted a massive two-week effort to ferry foreign nationals and tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans out of the country.

The airlift – one of the biggest such evacuation operations ever – marked the end of a 20-year Western mission in Afghanistan that began when U.S.-led forces ousted a Taliban government that had provided safe haven for the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The final chapter came quickly after the United States and the Taliban made a deal to end foreign involvement.

The Western-backed government and Afghan army melted away as Taliban fighters swept across the country and took control of Kabul on August 15.

The United States and allies have taken about 113,500 people out of Afghanistan in the past two weeks, but tens of thousands who want to go will be left behind.

“We tried every option because our lives are in danger. They (the Americans or foreigners) must show us a way to be saved. We should leave Afghanistan or they should provide a safe place for us,” said one women outside the airport.

According to Reuters, the Islamist group have engineers and technicians ready to take charge of the airport.

“We are waiting for the final nod from the Americans to secure full control over Kabul airport as both sides aim for a swift handover,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Britain’s last military flight left Kabul on Saturday night after a chaotic two weeks at the airport that was plunged into a bloodbath on Thursday when an Islamic State suicide bomb attack outside the airport gates killed at least 90 Afghans and 13 American troops.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended here the evacuation operation, but he faced accusations that his government had been “asleep on watch”.