The Taliban celebrate this Wednesday the first anniversary of the withdrawal from Afghanistan of the international coalition led by the United States, after twenty years of war that ended with the return to power of the Islamic fundamentalists and the worsening of the humanitarian crisis.
Garlands of green, blue or even red lights lit up the avenues of the capital on Tuesday night, although the government has yet to announce any official celebrations in Kabul.
On August 30, 2021, one minute before midnight, the last American soldier flew out of Kabul airport 24 hours before the deadline set by US President Joe Biden for the withdrawal of troops from the country.
“We are happy that Allah has got rid of the infidels from our country and that the Islamic Emirate has been established,” said Zalmai, a pharmacist in Kabul. “It was shown once again that these infidels cannot unite against the Muslims,” the trader added.
The longest intervention of the Americans.
The troop withdrawal a year ago ended the longest-running US military intervention, launched in reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001, attack. It claimed the lives of more than 2,400 US soldiers, according to the US military.
“The weight of the war in Afghanistan has gone beyond the borders of the United States,” the US military said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that more than 3,500 soldiers from other NATO countries were also killed.
Countless Afghans have also “risked their lives and the lives of their families to serve with us,” he added. Tens of thousands of Afghans were killed during the war.
The right of women to the lowest.
Two weeks before the troop withdrawal, the Taliban seized power in a nationwide hit-and-run offensive against former government forces. The assault had led to chaos. A crowd of people had rushed to the airport in the Afghan capital to be evacuated from the country on any flight.
Since then, the 38 million Afghans have faced one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to the United Nations. The situation only worsened after billions of dollars in foreign aid disbursements that had supported the Afghan economy for decades came to a sudden halt with the withdrawal of US troops.
The difficulties of Afghans, especially women, have increased. Very quickly and despite their initial promise, the country’s new masters largely reverted to the ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islam that had characterized their first accession to power between 1996 and 2001, severely restricting women’s rights.
Source: BFM TV
