Heavy gunfire was heard in Kabul late Monday into Tuesday after the last US troops were confirmed to be leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
AFP journalists in the city heard gunfire from different Taliban-held positions and fighters from the Islamist movement exchanging congratulations at checkpoints in the so-called green zone.
The US Department of Defense, through its official Twitter account, posted a photo of the last soldier who left Afghanistan, bringing the headlines to the end of a multi-year, particularly harsh period that left behind hundreds of thousands of dead.
This is Major Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, who will go down in history as the last US soldier to leave Afghanistan.
The top general of the US Central Command, Kenneth Mackenzie, told reporters that Donahue and the US diplomat in Kabul, Ross Wilson, were the last two US officials to leave Afghan soil.
The final withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan was completed yesterday. Monday, August 30. The last flight left Kabul just before midnight (local time).
The US and its allies left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban - the Islamists they overthrew in late 2001 when they invaded the country. The US suffered the most casualties of any international coalition country involved in the conflict:more than 2,460 members of the US armed forces were killed during the longest war in American history.
Taliban:"We wrote history"
"We made history," a Taliban official celebrated after the US announced that the last US soldiers had left the Middle Eastern country.
"We once again made history. Twenty years of US and NATO occupation of Afghanistan ended tonight," Anas Haqqani, an official of the Islamist movement, said on Twitter. "I am very happy after twenty years of jihad (s.b. 'holy war'), sacrifices and difficulties, that I have the satisfaction of seeing these historic moments".
""Congratulations to Afghanistan (...) This victory belongs to all of us. This is a big lesson for other attackers for our future generations," Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesman, said at Kabul airport. "It is also a lesson for the world", he added and added that "we want to have good diplomatic relations with the US and the whole world".
The US will "cooperate" with the Taliban if they keep their commitments
The US is willing to "cooperate" with the Taliban, but on the necessary condition that they "keep their commitments", the head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, said on Monday, a few hours after the withdrawal of the last US troops from Afghanistan. simultaneously announcing the closure of the diplomatic mission in Kabul and the transfer of its operation to Doha.
"Every step we take will not be based on what the Taliban government says, but on what it does to keep its commitments," insisted Mr. Blinken, warning the new regime that it must "win," show that " deserves" legitimacy and support from the international community.
"The Taliban want legitimacy and international support. Our message is that legalization and support must be earned," said the Secretary of State of the Joe Biden administration.
The US has suspended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and moved its operational operations to its embassy in Doha, the capital of Qatar, it confirmed, citing the "uncertain security environment and political situation" in the country.
The "new diplomatic mission" will have a "new team", led by Ian Macari, as yesterday's second-in-command at the American embassy in Kabul.
"We will use the post in Doha to conduct our diplomacy with regard to Afghanistan," particularly for assistance to Americans who have remained in the country, humanitarian aid and dialogue with the Taliban, he explained.
Washington will continue to "help" Americans who want to leave Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the US military, he noted. It is about 100 to 200 people, according to him. Another 6,000 were evacuated from Afghan territory after an airlift was set up on August 14 until yesterday.
Ignoring questions from reporters, Mr. Blinken said he had opened "a new chapter in America's engagement in Afghanistan" in which "our diplomacy" will play a leading role. "We will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreigners and Afghans leave if they choose," possibly by road, he said.
The process, however, "we have no illusions that it will be easy or quick", he added.
Hundreds of US citizens are still in the country
"Hundreds" of US citizens remain in Afghanistan after the last US troops leave, General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of US Central Command's joint command in Afghanistan (USCENTCOM), told reporters yesterday. via video link.
According to General Mackenzie, no US citizens made it to the airport to board the last military flights leaving Kabul yesterday.
The top official said he believed Washington would succeed in removing the US citizens who remained behind. It is about "a few hundred" people, he said.
"We will also negotiate very hard, very aggressively, to get our Afghan partners to leave," General Mackenzie added.
“The military phase of this operation is over. Now begins its diplomatic continuation", he clarified.
He confirmed that “all US military personnel have now withdrawn from Afghanistan. I can say that with 100% certainty.”
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