Taliban begins outlining how it will govern Afghanistan – as evacuation drive steps up
The Taliban has begun to set out how it plans to run Afghanistan after its takeover, saying former government experts will be brought in and fighters will continue to demonstrate restraint.
A Taliban official outlined on Saturday morning how separate teams will deal with internal security and the financial crisis that is set to impact the country.
It comes as the UK races to help its own citizens and Afghans who have worked with the British flee the country after US President Joe Biden indicated rescue missions must be completed within 10 days.
So far NATO said about 12,000 foreigners and Afghans working for embassies and international aid groups had been evacuated since Taliban insurgents entered the capital a week ago, but the security situation around Kabul airport is worsening.
Children wait for the next flight out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday after being told they are on the list to depart
The Taliban official said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s political leader, will delegate responsibility to commanders and meet former leaders, local militia commanders, policy makers and religious scholars in the coming days.
“Our fighters will continue to demonstrate restraint,” the official added.
He said no foreigners were being kidnapped, but the group was “questioning some of them before they exit the country”.
Earlier, an official said that its members would be accountable for their actions and the group will investigate reports of reprisals and atrocities carried out.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that so far 13 countries had agreed to temporarily host at-risk Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan and another 12 had agreed to serve as transit points for evacuees – including Americans and others leaving Afghanistan – as they continue to ship thousands of people out of the country.
Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan are waiting anxiously to see whether the US will deliver on Mr Biden’s promise to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who helped the war effort, with American helicopters picking up people from locations all around Kabul, beyond the chaotic airport and Taliban checkpoints.
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People are being crushed in the crowds outside Kabul’s airport.
Bahrain said it would allow rescue flights to use its facilities, after the US faced issues on Friday because its facilities at Qatari Al Udeid Air Base rapidly filled up.
The United Arab Emirates also said it would host up to 5,000 Afghans before “their departure to other countries”.
A NATO officials admitted the process of evacuating those it deems as qualified was “slow, as it is risky, for we don’t want any form of clashes with Taliban members or civilians outside the airport”.
While increasing numbers of people are being able to depart via the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the scenes outside where thousands are waiting have been described by Sky correspondent Stuart Ramsay as among the most desperate yet.
According to an official from Switzerland, which has postponed a charter flight to Uzbekistan aimed at helping the evacuation effort the security situation around Kabul airport has worsened significantly in the last hours.
People fleeing the country are continuing to flow across the borders into neighbouring countries with some 400 having arrived in Uzbekistan and pictures showing people crossing into Pakistan.
There were fears that an ensuing migration crisis could exacerbate regional diplomatic feuds, Greece having said it won’t accept being the “gateway for irregular flows into the EU,” and that it considers Turkey to be a safe place for Afghans, even though Turkey already hosts 3.6 million Syrians and hundreds of thousands of Afghans.
On Friday, Greece said it had completed a 40-kilometre fence on its natural border with Turkey, which it said had been finished “at a fast and intensified pace in view of the developments outside the borders of the country”.
Earlier, a Taliban official said the new Taliban model of Afghan government may not be democracy by the same strict Western definition, but would protect everyone’s rights.
In its dialogue with a number of different officials and groups, the spokesman said it had been discussing how to ensure Western powers leave the country on amicable terms.
A senior official in the ousted government, Abdullah Abdullah, tweeted that he and former president Hamid Karzai met with the Taliban’s acting governor for Kabul on Saturday, who “assured us that he would do everything possible for the security of the people” of the city.
Two people have died and more than one million people evacuated after a storm bearing down on the Philippines intensified into a super typhoon and made landfall on Sunday.
Fung-wong started battering eastern and central parts of the country, causing power outages, and forcing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency.
One person drowned in Catanduanes and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under the debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City, officials said.
A satellite image shows Storm Fung-wong, which has intensified into a super typhoon. Pic: CSU/CIRA & JMA/JAXA/Handout via Reuters
A man walks in the rain with an umbrella as Typhoon Fung-wong approaches, in Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines. Pic: Reuters
Evacuations under way in Quezon province. Pic: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
An evacuation centre in Manila. Pic: Reuters
Packing sustained winds of 115mph and gusts of up to 140mph, Super Typhoon Fung-wong made landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon.
Those living in high-risk villages in northeastern provinces were told to evacuate, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned Fung-wong could affect a vast expanse of the country, including the capital Manila, and Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi just days ago.
More than 200 people were killed in the earlier typhoon, and around 100 are still missing.
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Filipinos stranded on roofs amid Typhoon floods
Mr Teodoro Jr urged residents to heed evacuation orders, warning refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
“We ask people to pre-emptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.
More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defence said.
The projection of the route that will be taken by Super Typhoon Fung-wong by Japan’s national weather agency. Pic: JMA
In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering at a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.
“We’re scared,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled his home with his family. “We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”
Nearly 400 domestic and international flights have been cancelled, according to the civil aviation regulator.
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Deadly tornado tears through southern Brazil
Deadly tornado in Brazil
Meanwhile, a powerful tornado ripped through the southern state of Parana in Brazil – killing at least six and injuring more than 750 people, state officials said on Saturday.
The tornado left a trail of destruction, downing trees, overturning vehicles and damaging buildings.
Roads were also blocked and power lines damaged, with authorities saying around 1,000 people were displaced,
“We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X.
The UK is deploying a specialist Royal Air Force team to help defend Belgium’s skies following a series of sightings of “rogue” drones, the defence secretary and his military chief have revealed.
The ground-based unit will be equipped with kit that can track and take down unmanned aerial systems.
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the drone incursions, which forced the country’s main airport near Brussels to close temporarily and have also impacted Belgian military bases.
However, there are suspicions that they could be linked to Russia.
Other NATO nations have also experienced similar problems, including Denmark and Germany.
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, said his Belgian counterpart had called him to request British support.
Queen Camilla looks at counter-drone equipment during a visit to RAF Leeming, Northallerton, in September 2024. Pic: PA
“I had my Belgian opposite number – the chief of the defence staff – in touch with me this week, seeking our help to track and potentially defeat the drones,” he said.
“We agreed with the defence secretary on Friday that we would send our people and our equipment into Belgium to help them with the current problem they have got there.”
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Queen Camilla, who is an honorary air commodore, inspects counter-drone equipment. Pic: PA
John Healey, the defence secretary, said: “When our NATO allies call, we step up. Belgium requested urgent support to counter rogue drone activity at their military bases, so I’ve directed a small team of RAF specialists to deploy immediately.
“As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”
The RAF team is trained and equipped to combat drones.
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