U.S. embassy in Kabul will soon be an abandoned building​

Kabul, August 12 (RHC)-- The U.S. embassy in Kabul has urged American citizens to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible amid the Taliban’s advance against government forces throughout the country.

The embassy issued on Thursday the second security alert within a week calling on Americans to get out of the country immediately.   “The U.S. Embassy urges US citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options,” it said in a statement.

The alert included instructions to contact the embassy for those who cannot afford a flight or are waiting for a child or a spouse to get their visa to leave Afghanistan.  It also warned that the embassy’s capacity to aid U.S. citizens is “extremely limited.”

U.S. officials told the Associated Press and the Reuters news agency that Washington is sending additional troops into Afghanistan to help evacuate some personnel from the embassy in Kabul.

The troops will provide ground and air support for the processing and security of Americans being sent to the Kabul airport, said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a plan not yet made public.

The move suggests a lack of confidence by the Biden administration in the Afghan government’s ability to provide sufficient diplomatic security in the capital as the Taliban mounts an offensive that has rapidly conquered key cities in recent days.

The Pentagon had kept about 650 troops in Afghanistan to support U.S. diplomatic security, including at the airport.  The official said an unspecified additional number of troops, as well as aircraft, are to be brought in to assist with the embassy drawdown.