15 August,2021 11:33 AM IST | Kabul | IANS
US President Joe Biden. Pic/AFP
US President Joe Biden announced that he has authorised the deployment of roughly 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to support the drawdown of the American Embassy personnel from Kabul, warning the Taliban not to put the staff and mission at risk.
"Based on the recommendations of our diplomatic, military, and intelligence teams, I have authorised the deployment of approximately 5,000 US troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance," Biden said in a statement late Saturday (August 14).
"We have conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha, via our Combatant Commander, that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts US personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong US military response," he added.
The Pentagon announced last week that three infantry battalions, about 3,000 troops, will be deployed to Kabul airport to support US embassy staff reduction and Afghan Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) applicants evacuation given the Taliban's rapid offensive across the country.
ALSO READ
Russia launches intercontinental missile in attack for first time in Ukraine war
Ukraine fires into Russia for first time using missiles provided by the West
Over 40 US lawmakers push for Imran Khan’s release
During meeting with Biden, China's Xi cautions US to 'make wise choice'
Biden-Xi last meet to focus on North Korea
Biden's decision to send more forces comes as the Taliban seized control of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country's fourth largest city, dealing another crushing defeat to the Afghan government. The militant group now controls about 24 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, and are rapidly marching towards the capital, Kabul.
Also Read: Joe Biden rules out changes in troop withdrawal plan from Afghanistan
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
