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US troops arrive in Kabul to assist with evacuations

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American troops have flown into Kabul to help evacuate embassy personnel and other civilians in the Afghan capital, a U.S. official said on Saturday, a day after Taliban insurgents seized the country's second- and third-biggest cities.

The Pentagon has said two battalions of Marines and one infantry battalion will arrive in Kabul by Sunday evening, involving about 3,000 troops.

"They have arrived, their arrival will continue 'til tomorrow," the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

An infantry brigade combat team will also move out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait to act as a quick reaction force for security in Kabul if needed, the Pentagon has said.

Britain and several other Western nations are also sending troops as resistance from Afghan government forces crumbles and fears grow that an assault on Kabul could be just days away, Reuters reported.

An Afghan government official confirmed on Friday that Kandahar, the economic hub of the south, was under Taliban control as U.S.-led international forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war.

A U.S. defence official said there was concern that the Taliban - ousted from power in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States - could make a move on Kabul within days, Reuters reported.

"Kabul is not right now in an imminent threat environment, but clearly ... if you just look at what the Taliban has been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

Some embassies have begun to burn sensitive material ahead of evacuating, diplomats said.

The U.S. embassy in the Afghan capital informed staff that burn bins and an incinerator were available to destroy material including papers and electronic devices to "reduce the amount of sensitive material on the property," according to an advisory seen by Reuters.

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WFP delivers life-saving food to nearly 250,000 in Afghanistan

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The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced in a report that the organization was able to reach nearly 250,000 food-insecure people across Afghanistan with the assistance from China in the past few months.

The report said WFP was able to procure more than 2,000 metric tons of food, including fortified wheat flour and fortified vegetable oil, yellow split peas and salt which was distributed to more than 35,000 families or nearly 250,000 people across the country.

“Entire communities across Afghanistan experience despair and hunger,” said Ma Chen Guang, Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan, at a ceremony in Kabul on Thursday."

“China will continue to work with the World Food Programme to provide food assistance to hungry Afghan families in need of assistance for survival.”

The report stated: “The contribution from China came at a critical moment when a massive funding shortfall put at risk WFP’s work in Afghanistan. Last year, WFP had to cut 10 million people from assistance and this summer, due to the ongoing funding crisis, 11 million people did not receive emergency food assistance.

“This included more than 2 million mothers and their children who received no specialized supplementary food to combat malnutrition.”

“Afghanistan remains a global hunger hotspot and more than three-quarters of all people across the country cannot afford a nutritious diet that keeps them from falling into malnutrition,” said Hsiao-Wei Lee, Country Director of WFP Afghanistan.
“Families across the country need continued emergency food assistance to get through the winter months.”

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UK, Qatari officials discuss Afghanistan

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Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, met Tuesday with Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Andrew McCoubrey, on the sidelines of the World Humanitarian Forum in London.

During the meeting, they detailed cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to boost them and discussed the humanitarian and development conditions in Afghanistan, especially in the fields of health and education, Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

They also exchanged views on joint cooperation in humanitarian and development projects in Afghanistan, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate's political office in Qatar, has met with the Turkish ambassador to Doha to discuss bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Turkey.

Shaheen said on X that the meeting also discussed education, health, agriculture and investment opportunities in Afghanistan.

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IEA appoints delegation to probe reports of massacre on Iran-Pakistan border

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The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has appointed a delegation to investigate reports of Afghans being killed on the Iran-Pakistan border.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said the delegation is headed by Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, the deputy interior minister for security.

He said the delegation has been tasked to investigate the matter thoroughly and comprehensively and submit its report to the prime minister's office and receive necessary instructions for further action.

Fitrat added that the delegation began its work on Wednesday and is trying to find out the truth as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, an Iranian-based human rights organization, Haalvsh, claimed Iranian forces had gunned down at least 260 Afghan migrants near the Kalgan Saravan region in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province on Sunday evening.

 

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