BERLIN: Most European troops have already pulled out of Afghanistan, quietly withdrawing months before the US-led mission was officially expected to end — part of an anticlimactic close to the “forever war” that risks leaving the country on the brink of civil war.
Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over on Wednesday and Poland’s last troops returned home, bringing their deployments to a low-key end nearly 20 years after the first Western soldiers were deployed there.
Announcements from several countries analyzed by The Associated Press show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony — a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the US invasion to rid the country of Al-Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In the ensuing decades, the war went from one mission to another. Former US President George W. Bush’s administration shied away from nation-building and the United Nations advocated a light footprint. But with the passing years, NATO and US troops took on greater roles developing Afghanistan’s National Security and Defense Forces and training police. At the war’s peak, the US and NATO military numbers surpassed 150,000.
NATO agreed in April to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match US President Joe Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from the country, starting May 1.
Biden set a Sept. 11 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops. But more recently, American officials have said that pullout would most likely be completed by July 4 — and many allies have moved to wrap up their own presence by then as well.
NATO declined to give an update Wednesday on how many nations still have troops in its Resolute Support mission. But an analysis of governments’ own announcements shows that more than 4,100 of the non-American forces have left.
The US has refused to give troop figures, but when Biden announced the final pullout between 2,500 and 3,500 troops were deployed. The US has also refused to give a clear date for their final withdrawal.
Germany publicly announced the end of its nearly 20-year deployment in a statement and a series of tweets from the defense minister late Tuesday evening, shortly after the last plane carrying its troops had left Afghan airspace.
Three transport aircraft landed at the Wunstorf air base in northern Germany on Wednesday afternoon. The troops, wearing masks, lined up on the tarmac for a brief ceremony, but the military dispensed with a bigger reception because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have worked long and hard to stand here today,” said Brig. Gen. Ansgar Meyer, the last commander of the German contingent. “As your commander, I can say for you: ‘Mission accomplished.’ You have fulfilled your task.”
But the top American general in Afghanistan gave a sobering assessment Tuesday, warning about the recent rapid loss of districts to the Taliban and cautioning that the country could descend into civil war.
The German pullout came amid a spate of withdrawals by European nations. Poland’s last departing troops were greeted Wednesday by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. Some 33,000 Polish troops have served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
The last Italian troops from Italy’s base in Herat arrived at the military airport in Pisa late Tuesday. Italy officially declared its mission in Afghanistan over in a statement Wednesday, with Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini paying tribute to the 53 Italians who died, and 723 who were injured over the past two decades.
Going forward, Guerini said Italy’s commitment to Afghanistan would remain strong but in other forms, “beginning with the strengthening of development cooperation and support for Afghan institutions.”
Georgia’s last troops returned home on Monday, while Romania brought home its remaining 140 troops on Saturday, when Norway also pulled out. Troops from Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands also returned home last week. Spain withdrew its last troops on May 13, Sweden on May 25, and Belgium on June 14. The small contingents deployed by Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Finland and Albania have all left as well.
The pullout is nearing its end as security in Afghanistan worsens. Since May 1, when the withdrawal began, the Taliban have overrun district after district, including key ones along major transportation routes. Many have fallen after Afghan soldiers surrendered, often being convinced to leave their post by elders. But elsewhere there have been bitter military battles, with Afghan troops sometimes losing when their positions could not be resupplied.
The US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austen S. Miller, meanwhile, expressed concern about the resurrection of militias, which were deployed to help the beleaguered national security forces but have a brutal reputation for widespread killing.
“A civil war is certainly a path that can be visualized if this continues on the trajectory it’s on right now, that should be of concern to the world,” he said.
At a ceremony last week to mark the official end of the Dutch deployment, Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten underscored the uncertain outlook.
“We see reports of the rise of the Taliban, growing violence, also in areas where we were stationed,” she said. “A lot has been achieved but we must be realistic: The results are not irreversible.”
Most European troops exit Afghanistan quietly after 20 years
https://arab.news/ge723
Most European troops exit Afghanistan quietly after 20 years
- Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over on Wednesday and Poland's last troops returned home
- Majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony
Presidential aide says Ukraine ready to host second peace summit soon
“Thanks to active work with our partners, a joint peace framework has already been developed,” Yermak said
KYIV: Ukraine is ready to host a second global summit aimed at ending Russia’s invasion in the “nearest future,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Thursday, local media outlets reported.
Ukraine held its first “peace summit” in Switzerland in June, bringing together over 90 countries to draft a resolution based on Ukraine’s proposed conditions to end the war.
However, Russia was not invited to that summit and dismissed its deliberations as meaningless without Moscow’s participation. It has also said it would not take part in any follow-up summit organized by Ukraine.
“Thanks to active work with our partners, a joint peace framework has already been developed, which will become the basis for the Second Peace Summit, and Ukraine is ready to hold it in the near future,” Yermak told a conference, according to Ukrainian media.
China also stayed away from the June summit, while other major non-Western powers including India, Saudi Arabia and Mexico withheld their signatures from the summit communique, underlining the diplomatic challenge Kyiv faces in marshalling broader global support for its cause beyond its Western allies.
Yermak’s comments came as Russian forces continue to make steady territorial gains in eastern Ukraine while also pounding energy infrastructure in Ukrainian cities and towns.
Kyiv and its European allies are also waiting to see how US President-elect Donald Trump will handle the Ukraine issue. He has criticized the scale of US financial and military support for Ukraine and has said he could end the war in a day, without saying how.
UK MP asks for new law protecting faiths amid surge in Islamophobia
- Tahir Ali calls for legislation protecting ‘religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions’
- Move comes during Islamophobia Awareness Month, with Britain seeing highest rates of anti-Muslim prejudice in 14 years
LONDON: A Labour MP has asked the British government for a new law to protect “religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions” from “desecration.”
Tahir Ali, MP for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley, spoke during Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster, bringing into focus issues around hate crimes against the UK’s Muslim communities as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month.
Addressing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ali said: “Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning the desecration of religious texts, including the Qur’an, despite opposition from the previous government.”
He added: “Acts of such mindless desecration only serve to fuel division and hatred within our society. Will the prime minister commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and the prophets of the Abrahamic religions?”
Starmer did not rule out the possibility of new legislation, saying: “I agree that desecration is awful and should be condemned across the House. We are, as I said before, committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division, including Islamophobia in all its forms.”
After the session, Ali wrote on X: “As November marks Islamophobia Awareness Month, it is vital the Government takes clear and measurable steps to prevent acts that fuel hatred in society.”
The UK has seen a rise in reported cases of anti-Muslim prejudice in recent years, exacerbated by the Gaza war.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the charity Tell Mama UK has recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate, the highest number in 14 years.
Kyiv says Russian forces shot dead five captured soldiers
- Prosecutors said the incident had taken place on November 24 near the village of Novodarivka
- There was no immediate response to the accusations from Moscow
KYIV: Kyiv said on Thursday that Russian forces had shot dead five Ukrainian servicemen who had surrendered in the eastern Zaporizhzhia region, marking the latest war crimes allegations levied against Moscow.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other’s armies of committing atrocities since Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Prosecutors said the incident had taken place on November 24 near the village of Novodarivka in the Pologiv district of the Zaporizhzhia region.
“Servicemen of the Russian armed forces shot dead five Ukrainian defenders out of six who had been taken prisoner,” a statement read.
There was no immediate response to the accusations from Moscow, which claimed to have annexed Zaporizhzhia along with three other partially occupied Ukrainian territories in late 2022.
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said he had contacted the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) over the allegations.
Kyiv earlier this month accused Russian forces of killing five other surrendered soldiers, this time in the eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow also claims.
The UN has documented “numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary execution of both Russian and Ukrainian POWs,” a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office told AFP last year.
UK net migration hit record of more than 900,000 in 2023
- Immigration is a big political issue in Britain where voters worry public services cannot cope with immigrants
- Current Labour government says it wants to reduce immigration numbers by training workers to fill skills gaps
LONDON: Net migration to Britain hit a record of more than 900,000 in 2023, much higher than original estimates, although tougher visa rules have started to reduce the number of arrivals, official data showed.
Immigration is a big political issue in Britain, where voters worry that already stretched public services cannot cope with such large numbers arriving, but sectors such as health care say they cannot function without foreign workers.
Data from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed net migration of 906,000 for the year to the end of June 2023, revised up from the previous estimate of 740,000, in what the ONS described as “unprecedented levels” since 2021.
Numbers did fall 20 percent from the record high to 728,000 for the year to the end of June 2024, the ONS said, driven by declining numbers of dependents coming with those on study visas after the rules were changed.
The jump to a record level in 2023 came under the previous Conservative government’s watch. It had promised to cut immigration and introduced measures to curb students and care workers bringing in family members.
The current Labour government, elected in July, has also said it wants to reduce numbers by training workers to fill skills gaps.
The big jump to 2023 numbers was attributed to more available data, more information on Ukraine visas and improvements to how it estimates migration, the ONS said.
High levels of legal migration in 2016 was one of the driving forces behind Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
While post-Brexit changes to visas saw a sharp drop in the number of European Union migrants to Britain, new work visa rules led to a surge in immigration from India, Nigeria and Pakistan, often to fill health and social care vacancies.
Cyprus could become a member of NATO when conditions permit, the country’s president says
- Turkiye maintains more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the island’s government
NICOSIA: Cyprus could apply to become a member of NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with US help to bring them up to the standards of the world’s premier military alliance, the president of the Mediterranean island nation said Thursday.
President Nikos Christodoulides put Cyprus on a trajectory for possible NATO membership, ending weeks of media speculation about his government’s intentions following his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington last month. The development goes against Cyprus’ long-held policy of neutrality harking back to the Cold War era, when it walked a political tightrope between Washington and Moscow.
Christodoulides said although Cyprus can’t join NATO at this time because of objections that Turkiye would raise to its potential membership, the Cypriot National Guard shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to upgrade its defensive capabilities with US assistance.
Turkiye, which maintains more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the island’s government, which is based in the Greek Cypriot southern part.
Christodoulides didn’t elaborate on how Turkish objections could be sidestepped. But the UN is currently working to prepare for a resumption of peace talks between the rival sides in Cyprus, which was split in 1974 when Turkiye invaded following a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece.
“And because we don’t want the National Guard to lose such opportunities, we’re in talks with the US — and we thank them for their positive response — on how the Cyprus Republic can make the best use of these opportunities, so when everything is in its place, the Cyprus Republic can become a member state of NATO,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.
“The strengthening of the Cyprus Republic’s deterrent capabilities is of the utmost importance, and we take advantage of every opportunity, both in the direction of the United States and NATO, but also the European Union.”
Christodoulides said Cyprus’ geographic location — it’s the closest EU member state to the Middle East at just 182 kilometers (114 miles) from the Lebanese capital, Beirut — has given impetus to planned upgrades to its military infrastructure. He said the government is currently in talks with the US for upgrades to a key air base and with the EU for a naval base.
Following his meeting with Biden, Christodoulides told the AP of his government’s commitment to expanding defense and security cooperation with the US
Cyprus’ Andreas Papandreou air base on its southwestern edge is currently hosting a US Marine contingent and a number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft prepositioned to assist in potential evacuations from nearby Lebanon and elsewhere.
