The US continues to increase the pace of flights evacuating people from the Kabul airport as the August 31st withdrawal deadline looms.
The White House said Tuesday that in the previous 24 hour period, the US evacuated 12,700 people on 37 flights, the largest number in a single day since the airlift began on August 31st. Fifty-seven coalition flights evacuated 8,900 people in the same period, bringing the day’s total to about 21,600 evacuees.
Since the airlift started on August 14th, the White House said the US has evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of about 58,700 people. A State Department official told Reuters that in that time, over 4,000 US passport holders had been flown out of Afghanistan.
It’s not clear how many US citizens are left in Afghanistan, and the White House doesn’t know. On Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US isn’t sure of the exact number because not every American in Afghanistan registered with the embassy or deregistered when they left the country.
Last week, unofficial estimates put the number of US citizens in Afghanistan between 10,000 and 15,000 people, and President Biden estimated that the number of Afghans seeking refuge in the US was between 50,000 and 65,000 people. It’s unclear if these numbers are accurate, but if they are, the US appears to be on track to meet the August 31st withdrawal deadline.
President Biden decided Tuesday that he would stick to the August 31st deadline, although he ordered a “contingency plan” for if he changes his mind. The Taliban has warned that there would be “consequences” if foreign troops remain in Afghanistan come September.