US general says there are 10,000 people still waiting to be evacuated from Kabul’s airport

There are 10,000 people at the Kabul airport waiting to be evacuated from Afghanistan, US Maj. General Hank Taylor said in a briefing Wednesday.

US forces have less than a week until the evacuation deadline on Aug. 31, which President Biden chose not to extend on Tuesday.

A Taliban spokesperson said this week that the militant group will not negotiate a new deadline and also pushed Biden to stop helping evacuees leave. The White House said Biden has asked the Pentagon to draft contingency plans in case the deadline cannot be met.

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