Afghans who have applied for special immigrant visas to the US were told to stay away from Kabul’s airport on Monday, as American officials ramped up evacuation flights and the Taliban said all US forces needed to leave Afghanistan by August 31.
Western countries are now in a frantic race to complete what US President Joe Biden last week called “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history,” amid harrowing scenes at the airport of tens of thousands of people trying to flee Taliban rule.
Amid the scramble to evacuate, many Afghans have essentially been pushed to the back of the queue.
