About 1,500 US citizens remain in Afghanistan, Blinken says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. estimates that astir 1,500 American citizens stay successful Afghanistan and whitethorn beryllium awaiting evacuation arsenic the Aug. 31 deadline looms.

In a property conference, Blinken said that connected Aug. 14, determination were arsenic galore arsenic 6,000 U.S. citizens successful Afghanistan who wanted to leave, and implicit the past 10 days, astir 4,500 of those Americans person been evacuated on with their contiguous household members. He added that much than 500 of those citizens were evacuated implicit the past time alone.

Over the past 24 hours, Blinken said the U.S. has been successful nonstop interaction with astir 500 further Americans and has provided circumstantial instructions connected however they tin get to the Kabul airdrome safely, truthful they tin evacuate.

For the remaining astir 1,000 contacts that the Biden medication has who whitethorn beryllium Americans seeking to permission Afghanistan, Blinken says they’re aggressively reaching retired to them aggregate times a time done aggregate channels of connection to find whether they inactive privation to permission and to get them the astir up to day accusation and exit instructions.

“Some whitethorn nary longer beryllium successful the country, immoderate whitethorn person claimed to beryllium Americans but crook retired not to be, immoderate whitethorn take to stay,” said Blinken. “We’ll proceed to effort to place the presumption and plans of these radical successful the coming days. Thus, from this of astir 1,000, we judge the fig of Americans actively seeking to permission Afghanistan is lower, apt importantly lower.”

Blinken told reporters that these are “dynamic calculations” that the medication is moving hr by hr to refine for accuracy. He said the fig of American citizens remaining successful the state is hard to pin down for a fig of reasons, including due to the fact that the U.S. doesn’t way Americans’ movements arsenic they question astir the satellite and it’s voluntary to enroll and disenroll with U.S. embassies.

“Since Aug. 14, we’ve reached retired straight to each American enrolled with america successful Afghanistan, often aggregate times,” said Blinken.

While evacuating Americans is the apical priority, Blinken said the medication is besides committed to getting retired arsenic galore Afghans astatine hazard arsenic we tin earlier the Aug. 31 deadline.

Blinken said the U.S. is connected way to implicit its ngo by Aug. 31 provided the Taliban proceed to cooperate and determination are nary disruptions. He said President Joe Biden has besides asked for contingency plans successful lawsuit helium determines that we indispensable stay successful the state past that date.

“But fto maine crystal wide astir this, determination is nary deadline connected our enactment to assistance immoderate remaining American citizens who determine they privation to permission to bash truthful on with the galore Afghans who person stood by america implicit these galore years and privation to permission and person been incapable to bash so. That effort volition proceed each time past Aug. 31,” said Blinken.