UN urges countries to accept Afghan refugees

Washington: Following a breakdown in security on the tarmac that interrupted evacuation operations, a US general said that Kabul's airport has been reopened early Tuesday Afghanistan time after being closed for hours by US forces

The airport reopened at 1935 GMT Monday, said Major General Hank Taylor, a logistics specialist on the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He said a C-17 transport aircraft had landed with US Marines aboard, and a second one loaded with an army unit was to land soon, to help establish security for the airport.

Taylor said the United States was "in charge of air traffic control" at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) for military and commercial flights.

He added that there were already about 2,500 US troops in Kabul to help organize the evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghans who worked for them as translators and in other jobs.

Saudi Arabia called on the Taliban and "all Afghan parties" on Monday to preserve lives and property, after the insurgents seized the capital Kabul.

A statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry on Twitter added that the kingdom "stands with the choices that the Afghan people make without any interference," expressing hope that the situation in the central Asian state stabilises as soon as possible.

United States President Joe Biden, being widely criticised for the American troops departure from Afghanistan following a 20-year stay, will address the nation on the Afghan crisis at 19:45 GMT. The address comes a day after the insurgent Taliban took over Kabul, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the nation for neighbouring Tajikistan.

The soldiers of United States killed 2 armed men at Kabul airport, Pentagon said, according to news agency AFP.

U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer on Monday said that the United States will focus on securing the Kabul airport as people tried to flee a day after Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital.

The United States has temporarily halted all evacuation flights from Kabul to clear people who had converged on the airfield, a U.S. defense official told Reuters, but did not say how long the pause would last.

India will help the Sikh and Hindu minorities of Afghanistan. "We are in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities.

We will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan," foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.

The UN Secretary-General went on to say that the capital city (Kabul) has seen a huge influx of internally displaced persons from provinces across the country where they felt insecure and fled during the fighting.

I remind all parties of their obligations to protect civilians, he said. "I also urge all countries to be willing to accept refugees and refrain from any deportations," he added.

New Delhi: Amidst the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel deployed for the security of the Indian embassy in Kabul, will continue to stay there to guard the remaining staff.

The Indian embassy in Kabul has been functioning with reduced staff strength.

The first day of what the Taliban calls the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' saw Kabul, a bustling metropolis of six million, turn into a slow, male-dominated city without police or traffic controls and with shuttered businesses everywhere.

A city that only 48 hours ago was jam-packed with cars and hundreds of people lining up outside banks, visa processing offices and travel agencies, has come to a near standstill, Al Jazeera reported.

Indian intelligence and security establishments are making all efforts to bring its citizens from Afghanistan with Air Force transport aircraft already being mobilised and a few of them kept on standby, as per an IANS report.

Fearing attacks on the Indian community working with private companies in Afghanistan, the intelligence agencies have sent out alerts to them to be ready to be transported back to the country.