Follows near 20-year deployment
The last American troops and diplomats have left Afghanistan, ending it’s 20 year deployment in the country.
It marks the end of a chaotic withdrawal which has seen the biggest air evacuation in history.
Taliban fighters swept into Kabul airport and fired guns into the sky in celebration:
#AFGHANISTAN
— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) August 31, 2021
Taliban parade in Kabul airport after US leave#AFP pic.twitter.com/BaBN6pm50h
Journalist Dominic Nicholls, who served in Afghanistan, says it’s a difficult day:
The desperation of some Afghans to leave was demonstrated by footage of people trying to cling to a military plane as it took off.
The head of NATO says it's "essential" to keep Kabul's airport open to ensure people who still want to leave Afghanistan can do so.
Jens Stoltenberg says the airport must remain operational so humanitarian aid can arrive and so anyone who wants to evacuate still has a route out.
Colonel Eric Johnson is from the US Air Force:
This Kabul resident is happy to see western troops leave:
The US Department of Defense tweeted a picture of Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, boarding a C-17 to depart Kabul.
— CNN International (@cnni) August 31, 2021
He was the last soldier to depart the country. https://t.co/9MXk01FmJQ
The Taliban claims it wants to have good relations with the whole world.
Some people desperately clung to a military plane as it took off while long queues have formed at banks as people try to withdraw their savings.
LA Times journalist Nabih Bulos is in Kabul and says it’s unclear if the Taliban will leave up to its promise to allow people to leave:
The Taliban now have full control of Kabul’s international airport after the last U.S. plane took off. The scene there marks the end of America’s longest war, a quiet airfield where only vehicles raced back and forth along the sole runway of the airport. https://t.co/iHv3TKcNBA
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 31, 2021
The United Nations last night passed a resolution calling for the Taliban to agree the safe passage of people still looking to escape.
Addressing the council, Ireland's Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, had this message:
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken believes between 100-200 US citizens are still there:
Meanwhile roughly 60 Irish citizens and their families remain in the country.
Later today, an Oireachtas Committee meeting will hear an update on the situation in Afghanistan.
Former Defence Forces member, Senator Gerard Craughwell, says getting them out won't be easy:
The head of Britain's RAF has suggested their forces are prepared to launch air strikes against Islamic State in Afghanistan.
Western troops have left the country after a 20-year campaign against the Taliban.
Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston has told the Daily Telegraph if there's "an opportunity to contribute" to defeating IS - then they're ready.
America has attacked the group in recent days.
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