Crowds in front of Kabul International Airport | Wikipedia Commons/VOA
Crowds in front of Kabul International Airport | Wikipedia Commons/VOA
After the last of the U.S. troops left Afghanistan before their withdrawal deadline, between 100 and 200 Americans who may have wanted to leave still remain on the ground.
The last five flights that left Kabul as a part of the evacuation and withdrawal mission of the U.S. did not have any American citizens on them, CBS News reported. According to General Frank McKenzie, even though the troops tried their best, none of the remaining people could make it to the airport, and thus, now fewer than 200 Americans still remain in the country.
"This is unacceptable," U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) wrote in a Facebook post. "No American who wanted to leave should have been left behind. My prayers are with those who remain, and my team will continue to work to ensure that those in need have resources available to them."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged to the Biden administration to try and reach out to the trapped Americans and help them figure out when they can leave Afghanistan, according to a C-SPAN video. He is backed by several international allies as well.
Biden also stated that the decision to complete the evacuation and withdrawal by Aug. 31 was a recommendation of the U.S. military commanders, The Hill reported.
Since the end of July, the coalition flights and the U.S. military have evacuated over 123,000 civilians from the country, according to The Hill.
Alerts Sign-up