Collapse of Afghan government sets off evacuation scramble but Beijing and Moscow have no current plans to remove staff
Chinese embassy warns its nationals to stay indoors, take safety precautions and keep a close watch on the situation
Sarah Zheng
Published: 11:03am, 16 Aug, 2021
Updated: 11:54am, 16 Aug, 2021
As the US and its allies scrambled to evacuate their staff from Afghanistan, China has asked the “various factions” in the country to ensure the safety of its citizens and interests.
The Chinese embassy in Kabul signalled on Sunday that it had been contact with the Taliban and would be staying put as the insurgent forces neared a complete takeover of the country. “The Chinese embassy has requested various factions in Afghanistan to ensure the safety of Chinese nations, Chinese institutions and Chinese interests,” it said.
“The embassy will take further steps to remind Chinese nationals to closely follow the security situation, increase safety precautions and to refrain from going outside.” Russia’s embassy has also said it had no plans to evacuate.
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A Taliban spokesman said it had assured “all embassies, diplomatic centres, institutions, places and foreign nationals” in Kabul that they would remain safe, as its sweeping and rapid advances on Sunday left the capital city in disarray.
By Monday, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani had left the country, marking the stunning collapse of the army and government after a costly, 20-year US military campaign to support them, and the return of Taliban rule.
The militant group said it would work towards transitioning the country under an “open, inclusive Islamic government”, raising concerns that advances for democracy as well as for Afghan women and minorities in the past two decades will be lost.
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A joint statement on Monday from more than 65 countries – including the US, Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia, the European Union, Niger, Fiji, Uganda and others, but not China or Russia – called on “all parties to respect and facilitate the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country”.
“Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility – and accountability – for the protection of human life and property, and for the immediate restoration of security and civil order” it said. “Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so; roads, airports and border crossing must remain open, and calm must be maintained.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the Taliban and others to “exercise utmost restraint to protect lives” and ensure humanitarian needs are met.
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“Conflict in Afghanistan is forcing hundreds of thousands to flee amid reports of serious human rights violations,” he said on Twitter. “All abuses must stop. International humanitarian law and human rights, especially the hard-won gains of women and girls, must be preserved.”
One of China’s main concerns – raised in a meeting with senior Taliban leaders in July – is the future of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement which Beijing has blamed for unrest in its Xinjiang region. Foreign Minister Wang Yi secured a commitment from the Taliban that it would not let any force “use the Afghan territory to engage in acts detrimental to China”.
At the same meeting, in the eastern Chinese city of Tianjin, Wang slammed the US for its “hasty withdrawal” from Afghanistan and said the Taliban was an “important military and political force” that was “expected to play an important role in the country’s peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process”.
In April, US President Joe Biden’s administration announced it would withdraw US troops from the country by September 11 after his predecessor Donald Trump struck a deal in February 2020 with the Taliban to reduce the US presence there.