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US forces leave Kandahar Airfield as drawdown continues
U.S. forces have left Kandahar Airfield, a base that was once one of the largest NATO and coalition installations in the country, Afghan and U.S. officials told Stars and Stripes.
The airfield has been transferred to the Afghan security forces, a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
According to Stripes, one official said coalition personnel may remain in Kandahar for "a day or two" to address security concerns. He did not however say exactly when the base was handed over.
Stripes reported that the NATO Resolute Support press office declined to comment on the airfield’s status Thursday while the Afghan Defense Ministry said earlier this week that the handover wouldn’t occur until sometime after Eid-ul-Fitr.
Stripes also reported the U.S. did not hold a handover ceremony at the base, which housed an estimated 30,000 troops and contractors at the height of the war.
According to Stripes, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s 205th Atal Military Corps Khwaja Yahya Alvi, US forces left the base without coordinating with Afghan forces.
He said the move left Afghan officials uncertain whether the U.S. left Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
“The Americans have vacated their bases and they have left,” Alvi said.
An Afghan security official at the Kandahar airport confirmed that U.S. troops left this week without a ceremony, reported Stripes.
“They left in the night” and there are no more U.S. forces in Kandahar, “not at this moment,” said General Faqir Qowahi, commander of the military side of Kandahar Airport.
Massoud Pashtoon, the facility’s director of civil aviation, also told Stars and Stripes that U.S. troops had left.
Eleven people have been killed in a shooting at a shrine in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, local sources said on Friday.
The incident took place at 9 pm on Thursday at the shrine of Sayed Padsha Jan in Shahr-e-Kuhna of Nahrin district.
A local resident said the dead were residents of Nahrin district and wanted to spend the night at the shrine.
Asadullah Mustafa Hashemi, the provincial information and culture director, confirmed the incident but did not provide details on how it happened or the number of casualties.
Provincial police spokesman said they had not received any information about the incident yet.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev on Thursday met with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced.
During the meeting, the sides discussed priority vectors of strategic interstate cooperation built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis, as well as exchanged views on the implementation of previously reached agreements.
It was noted that personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in intensifying the interstate dialogue, which give a strong impulse to further development and expansion of Turkmen-Chinese ties.
It was emphasized that Turkmenistan considers multilateral international platforms for maintaining stability in Afghanistan as an important factor in promoting sustainable improvement of socio-economic state of the neighboring country. The sides exchanged views on the preparations to the 5th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring States to be held in Turkmenistan.
The interlocutors reaffirmed that Turkmenistan and China will continue to provide all-round support for the economic restoration of Afghanistan.
The U.S. House Of Representatives has passed a legislation on evacuation of Afghans who assisted Americans during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
“The passage of the CARE Authorization Act of 2024 further underscores the commitment made by the U.S. government to safeguard those who served shoulder-to-shoulder with our personnel during the twenty-year mission in Afghanistan,” Congresswoman Dina Titus said in a statement.
“The State Department has made it clear: There is no deadline for the crucial job of protecting Afghan allies. By authorizing the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts at the State Department, we can more effectively relocate and resettle those who have qualified to immigrate to the U.S. as a result of their service to this country.”
In 2022 the State Department established a specialized office called the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) to streamline and coordinate the ongoing relocation and resettlement process for eligible Afghans from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States.
The CARE Authorization Act of 2024 will formally authorize the CARE office at the State Department for three years and grant important authorities to advance its mission. These include an extension of authorities to enter into personal services contracts as well as measures to streamline the transfer of funds to and from other agencies involved in the Afghan relocation mission.
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