- German evacuations expected to end in the next few days
- The US, Britain and Australia have all expressed fears over terror attacks at Kabul airport
- Nearly 90,000 Afghans and foreigners have fled Afghanistan via the US-led airlift since the Taliban seized power on August 15
This article was last updated at 03:56 GMT/UTC.
Taliban promises security at airport
Taliban cadres have assured security outside Kabul airport, but intelligence reports of an imminent threat from Islamic State militants cannot be ignored, a NATO country diplomat in the Afghan capital said.
The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency that Western forces “under no circumstances” want to be put in a position to “launch an offensive or defensive attack against anyone in Afghanistan.”
“Our mandate is to ensure evacuations end on August 31,” the official said.
A Taliban official also told Reuters that the groups guards are “also risking their lives at Kabul airport” and they too “face a threat from the ‘Islamic State’ group.”
US, allies tell citizens to avoid Kabul airport
The United States, Britain and Australia have all issued warnings over possible terror attacks at Kabul airport.
Crowds trying to access Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport have been urged to leave the area.
Britain and Australia cited the “high threat” of a terrorist attack while the US embassy in Kabul has advised Americans not to travel to the airport in the Afghan capital due to unspecified “security threats” outside the gates.
Citizens already at the airport’s Abbey Gate, East Gate and North Gate have been advised to leave “immediately,” the embassy said.
For days thousands of fearful Afghans and foreigners have surrounded Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, in the hope of fleeing the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan earlier this month.
Australia’s department of foreign affairs said there was an “ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack. Do not travel to Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport. If you’re in the area of the airport, move to a safe location and await further advice.”
The UK foreign office echoed similar sentiments as it said: “If you can leave Afghanistan safely by other means, you should do so immediately.”
Wednesday’s key developments
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany hoped to end its evacuation process “in the next few days.”
Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium all announced the end of their evacuations.
Russia sent planes to evacuate more than 500 people.
Mexico, Uganda and Bulgaria all welcomed Afghan refugees on Tuesday.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Statue of Abdul Ali Mazari
According to media reports, the Taliban has blown up the statue of Abdul Ali Mazari, a political leader of the Hazara minority. Mazari was posthumously declared a “martyr for national unity” in 2016. This past February, the Taliban had declared it would respect the country’s cultural assets — Afghanistan has many significant historical sites dating back thousands of years.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Buddha statues in Bamiyan
Two huge Buddha statues once stood in Bamiyan Valley, on one of the ancient trade routes between China and South Asia. Located some 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Kabul, the valley was a center of Buddhism, which originated in India; several thousand Buddhist monks lived there in the 6th century. The Taliban destroyed the statues in March 2001. This light projection took place in 2014.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Archaeological excavations near Bamiyan
Bamiyan Valley was home not only to the famous Buddha statues but also to Shahr-e Gholghola and Shahr-e Zuhak, two forts that were strategically located on a mountain, allowing the inhabitants to spot passing caravans from afar. The city of Bamiyan flourished again in recent years, with the many sights leading to a rise in tourism.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Buddhist art from Hadda
In the late 1930s, French archaeologists found an abundance of sculptures and paintings at the Hadda Buddhist monastery complex in eastern Afghanistan, not far from the city of Kandahar. Many depictions are of real-life scenes. The Taliban destroyed most of the archaeological sites in the course of the Afghan civil war.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Herat citadel
The citadel is one of the largest fortresses in Central Asia and the national symbol of Afghanistan. The sand-colored bulwark and its 18 towers stand tall over the city of Herat, in western Afghanistan. The construction is said to date back to the time of Alexander the Great, or c. 330 BC. It was restored around ten years ago with international aid money — and could now be a target of the Taliban.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Mes Aynak
A 1500-year-old Buddhist monastery complex sits on a hill in in Mes Aynak, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Kabul. Destruction has threatened the site for years, and not only by the Taliban. China has an eye on the copper deposits located beneath the temples and workshops. The name Mes Aynak means small copper basin.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Minaret of Jam
At 65 meters (213 feet), this is the second-tallest brick minaret in the world. It is thought to have been built on the site of the ancient city of Firozkoh, the capital of the Ghurid dynasty. An inscription on the tower dates its construction to 1174-5 A.D. The place has been looted repeatedly. The Jam minaret has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2002.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa Shrine
The mausoleum in the northern Afghan city of Balkh was built a few years after the death of the Sufi scholar Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa, around 1460 A.D. It is also known as the Green Mosque. Starting at the end of the 16th century, six madrasas were added, and the district became a center for religious learning. The building was last restored in 2002 and serves as a cultural monument and mosque.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Gardens of Babur
Known as Bagh-e Babur, the gardens were built around 1528 A.D. on the orders of the Indian Mughal ruler Babur. They were destroyed during the civil war of the 1990s but later rebuilt by the Aga Khan Foundation and Germany. The complex includes a caravanserai (a roadside inn for travelers), a palace, a historic pavilion, a mosque and Babur’s tomb.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque
Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, the Mosque of the King of the Two Swords, is located in downtown Kabul. It was built in the 1920s by King Amanullah Khan, who ruled from 1919-29. He attempted to modernize Afghanistan. His mosque had an unusual design, with multiple levels and facades in the Italian neo-Baroque style.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
Darul Aman Palace
Amanullah Khan also built this palace on the occasion of Afghanistan’s independence from British colonial rule in 1919. It is reminiscent of the Reichstag building in Berlin. Twenty-two German engineers helped build it and trained local specialists. During the civil war in the 1990s, the building was demolished by artillery fire. It reopened again in 2019.
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Afghanistan’s ancient heritage in danger
National Museum of Afghanistan
The archives and exhibitions of Afghanistan’s National Museum in Kabul contain some 80,000 artifacts. “We have great concerns for the safety of our staff and collections,” director Mohammad Fahim Rahimi told National Geographic magazine. Back in 2001, the National Museum was looted and partially destroyed by the Taliban.
Author: Sabine Oelze
jsi/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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