| The top American general overseeing operations in Afghanistan said on Sunday that the U.S. will continue to carry out airstrikes to support Afghan forces facing attacks from the Taliban. “The United States has increased airstrikes in support of Afghan forces over the last several days and we’re prepared to continue this heightened level of support in the coming weeks if the Taliban continue their attacks,” CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said in Kabul, while declining to say whether U.S. forces would continue airstrikes after the end of their military mission on August 31. After meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Gen. McKenzie said, “I’m concentrating on the here and now,” but also said “logistical support” would continue beyond this month. “The Taliban are attempting to create a sense of inevitability about their campaign,” Gen. McKenzie added, but cautioned that a Taliban victory was not inevitable and a political solution remained a possibility. The Taliban have called the U.S. strikes a breach of the 2020 agreement between the militant group and the United States.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government has imposed a curfew across most of the country as the government struggles to curb an offensive by the Taliban. “To curb violence and limit the Taliban movements, a night curfew has been imposed in 31 provinces across the country,” excluding Kabul, Panjshir, and Nangarhar, the interior ministry said on Saturday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that overstretched Afghan forces were “consolidating” to protect the most important population areas, border crossings, and infrastructure.
The UN said today that nearly 2,400 Afghan civilians were killed or injured in May and June amid escalating fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces, the highest number recorded in those two months since 2009. After a phone call with Ghani on Friday, President Biden said the ongoing Taliban offensive was in “direct contradiction to the movement’s claim to support a negotiated settlement of the conflict” and pledged to continue supporting Afghan forces, including by pledging $1 billion to Afghanistan’s air force and delivering additional Black Hawk helicopters. Reuters, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post |