WRAPUP 3-NATO vows to speed up evacuations from Afghanistan as criticism escalates

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(Updates with details on Biden’s impact assessment)

* More than 18,000 evacuated since the takeover by the Taliban – NATO official

* First Friday prayers come amid protests against new Taliban regime

* Concerns over reprisals as rights group reports killings

* Western powers under fire from intelligence, evacuations

KABUL, Aug.20 (Reuters) – More than 18,000 people have flown from Kabul since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital, a NATO official said on Friday, pledging to redouble efforts to evacuation as criticism of the West’s handling of the crisis intensified.

Thousands of people, desperate to flee the country, still flocked to the airport, the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters even though the Taliban urged people without legal travel documents to return home. .

The speed with which Taliban Islamist militants conquered Afghanistan as US and foreign troops completed their withdrawal surprised even their own leaders and left power vacuum in many places.

The Taliban called for unity ahead of Friday prayers, the first since taking power, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan amid chaos at the airport, protests and reports of violence.

Residents of Kabul and four other major cities said prayers appeared to have gone off without incident, although turnout was low.

A witness told Reuters that several people were killed in the eastern city of Asadabad on Thursday when Taliban militants shot at a crowd demonstrating their allegiance to the defeated Afghan republic as the Taliban prepared to establish an emirate, governed by strict Islamic law.

There have been similar protests of defiance in two other towns – Jalalabad and Khost – in the east, with Afghans using the nation’s 1919 independence celebrations from British control to express their anger at the takeover of the Taliban.

Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but it was apparently Taliban firing in the air.

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A Taliban spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Kabul has been largely quiet except in and around the airport https://tmsnrt.rs/3stVpcj where 12 people have been killed since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States was “laser-focused” on “the potential for a terrorist attack” by a group such as the Islamic State during the evacuation.

BLAME

Criticism of NATO and other Western powers increased as images of chaos and desperate fear of the Taliban regime were shared around the world.

In a scene captured on social media https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/small-afghan-girl-is-lifted-crowd-capturing-desperation-flee-kabul-2021-08-19, a A little girl was hoisted over the perimeter wall of the airport and handed over to an American soldier.

US President Joe Biden was due to speak about the evacuation efforts at 1 p.m. (5 p.m. GMT) on Friday, after facing a torrent of criticism for his handling of the troop withdrawal negotiated by the previous US administration.

Biden dismisses https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens-afghanistan-policy-counts-issue-fading-importance-war-weary-americans-2021-08-20 criticism of the chaotic Afghan attraction of his administration – all because he and his aides believe political fallout at home will be limited, according to White House allies and administration officials.

British media have reported that its spy bosses could face grilling over intelligence failures. Several British officials went on vacation when the Afghan debacle erupted, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has come under heavy criticism for his initial response to the ongoing crisis.

The German and Australian governments have also been called on to do more and speed up the evacuation of citizens and Afghans who fear possible retaliation from the Taliban.

G7 foreign ministers on Thursday called for a https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-conflict-g7/g7-calls-for-international-shared-mission-to-limit-afghan -crisis- idUSKBN2FK1An international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments taken up by countries including Russia. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-conflict-russia-italy/russias-putin-italys-draghi-and-frances-macron-discuss-afghanistan-idUSKBN2FK1PH

China https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/senior-chinese-diplomat-says-afghanistan-should-not-be-geophysical-battleground-2021-08-19 said the world should support , not to pressure, Afghanistan.

A Taliban spokesman told Chinese state media that China has played a constructive role in promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and is welcome to help rebuild it.

FEAR OF RETALIATION

Since the capture of Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban, who ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 before being overthrown by US-led forces for sheltering al-Qaeda militants behind the attacks of September 11, this time presented a more moderate face.

They said this week that they want peace https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-show-conciliatory-face-first-kabul-news-conference-2021-08-17, do will not take revenge against old enemies and respect women’s rights https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/times-have-changed-some-afghan-women-defiant-taliban-return-2021-08- 17 within the framework of Islamic law.

As the Taliban scramble to put a government in place, including talks with former president Hamid Karzai, they uncover new problems, including hundreds of government officials who have not been paid for two months, a said a Taliban official.

“It is too early to say how this problem will be resolved but it is an immediate challenge,” said the official.

Norwegian intelligence group said in report Taliban started blacklisting Afghans https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-are-rounding-up-afghans-blacklist -private-intel- report-2021-08-19 from individuals linked to the previous administration or to the US-led forces that supported it. Complaints from some Afghan journalists https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/actions-or-words-afghan-journalists-question-talibans-free-press-pledge-2021-08-19 threw the doubts whether independent media would be allowed.

Amnesty International said https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/afghanistan-taliban-responsible-for-brutal-massacre-of-hazara-men-new-investigation an investigation found that the Taliban had murdered nine men of the Hazara ethnicity after taking control of Ghazni province last month, raising concerns that the Taliban, whose members are Sunni Muslims, would target the Hazaras, who are mostly to the Shiite minority.

A Taliban spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the information.

A US lawmaker said the Taliban was using files from the Afghan intelligence agency to identify Afghans working for the United States.

“They are methodically stepping up their efforts to bring these people together,” said Representative Jason Crow, who has led the US Congress’ efforts to speed up the evacuation of Afghans affiliated with the United States.

(Reporting by Kabul and Washington newsrooms; Writing by Lincoln Feast, Robert Birsel; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Heinrich)

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