In a “security alert” issued by the United States embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Americans in the capital city are being instructed to “shelter in place” and stay away from both the embassy and airport as the situation is “deteriorating rapidly.”
Latest security alert from US Embassy in Kabul: "We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time." pic.twitter.com/U81fjEsXNx
— Dion Nissenbaum (@DionNissenbaum) August 15, 2021
As The Daily Wire reported earlier Sunday, “U.S. officials are completely abandoning the embassy in Kabul amid the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan. The U.S. plans to evacuate hundreds of personnel and officials from the embassy within 72 hours as staff rush to burn sensitive documents and prepare to abandon the embassy to the Taliban for the time being.”
In a further missive, the embassy instructed Americans in Afghanistan to stay put. Previously, the Biden administration said that most “American diplomats will go to the airport in Kabul, the capital, and then fly back to the US,” according to CNN. “A small number of core personnel, including the top U.S. diplomat in the country, will remain at the Kabul airport for now, the sources said. This means that the US Embassy in Kabul will be shuttered — at least for the time being — by Tuesday.”
The new security alert appears to have come just as news broke that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country along with his “core” allies.
“We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place,” the security alert read. “The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time.”
Latest security alert from US Embassy in Kabul: "We are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time." pic.twitter.com/U81fjEsXNx
— Dion Nissenbaum (@DionNissenbaum) August 15, 2021
“The security situation in Kabul is changing quickly and the situation at the airport is deteriorating rapidly. There are reports of the airport taking fire and we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place,” the security alert reads. “The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has suspended consular operations effective immediately. Do not come to the Embassy or airport at this time.”
“U.S. citizens needing assistance in departing the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States,” the alert says, citing a link to a “repatriation assistance request.” Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas” are instructed to complete the request if “they wish to depart.”
The Taliban was negotiating a “peaceful” transfer of power in Kabul, remaining outside the city gates until they could strike a deal with the current government housed there. The AP noted, Sunday morning, that Ghani’s departure appeared to mark a turning point, with the Taliban now headed into the city and toward the presidential palace.
“The Taliban, which for hours had been in the outskirts of Kabul, announced soon after they would move further into a city gripped by panic throughout the day as helicopters raced overhead to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy,” the AP added. “Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.”