The United States troops remaining in Afghanistan may stay past the deadline for withdrawal, the end of this month. US President Joe biden said the troops may stay as the Taliban fighters are keeping evacuees from Kabul’s airport. Almost 15,000 troops and US citizens are stranded in the country after the Taliban takeover.
Foreign governments are airlifting Western citizens and Afghans who worked with them in evacuation efforts. The US government has pledged to evacuate all American citizens remaining along with 50-65,000 Afghans. America has evacuated more than 5,200 people thus far, with the plan to increase airlift efforts to 9,000 people a day. 4,500 US troops are in control of Karzai airport in the capital, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport by stampedes or gunshots. The Taliban are blocking many Afghans from accessing the airport to evacuate.
Read more: Afghanistan crisis: Biden says US troops may stay past withdrawal deadline
