Updates from Afghanistan: Biden to speak on evacuations, with 9,000 airlifted from Kabul

Evacuations from Afghanistan are continuing on Friday, with the White House reporting overnight that about 9,000 people have been taken out of the country since Saturday.

On Thursday alone, about 3,000 people were evacuated by military transport planes. That includes 350 U.S. citizens, family members, special immigrant visa applicants and their families and other vulnerable Afghans, according to a White House official.

The White House said President Joe Biden on Thursday spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron about Afghanistan. The two will be among leaders meeting next week at a virtual G7 gathering, where the U.S. withdrawal after two decades in the country will be a top concern.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met virtually with foreign ministers of the G7 nations – which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom – plus the High Representative of the European Union about Afghanistan, according to the State Department.

Since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, at least 2,443 service members have died from that war. Read their names in USA TODAY's special "In Memoriam" section.

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NATO foreign ministers lay out expectations for Taliban government

Foreign ministers of NATO issued a statement on the situation in Afghanistan on Friday morning, calling an "immediate end to violence" and for the safe evacuation of citizens and Afghan allies.

"We also express deep concerns about reports of serious human rights violations and abuses across Afghanistan. We affirm our commitment to the statement by the UN Security Council on 16 August, and we call for adherence to international norms and standards on human rights and international humanitarian law in all circumstances," the statement reads.

The statement demands that Afghanistan form an "inclusive and representative" government, noting "NATO has suspended all support to the Afghan authorities."

"Any future Afghan government must adhere to Afghanistan’s international obligations; safeguard the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women, children, and minorities; uphold the rule of law; allow unhindered humanitarian access; and ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists."

White House: Evacuation timing tied to Afghan government's fall

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield defended the Biden administration’s timing of the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul in an interview Friday morning with MSNBC, saying it was not begun earlier to keep the Afghan government intact.

“At any point that we began a mass evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies out of Afghanistan, it was going to signal the imminent collapse of the Afghan government, it was going to be a chaotic situation, whether it happened five months ago whether it happened five weeks ago, or whether it happened this week,” Bedingfield said. “So our effort was to continue to try to ensure that the Afghan government had every opportunity to remain in place.”

The U.S. military left Bagram Airfield in Kabul in early July. That meant any evacuation would need to take place at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which has both military and commercial services.

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How many Americans are in Afghanistan?

The U.S. does not have an accurate count of how many Americans are in Afghanistan and could be evacuated, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told "CBS Evening News" on Thursday.

Sullivan explained that while Americans are asked to register with the US Embassy when they enter the country, some don’t “unregister” when they leave or sign in to begin with.

Sullivan said the U.S. would try to reach all Americans in Afghanistan by combing an existing database of Americans who are there, and by broadcasting messages in as many ways as possible.

President Joe Biden is confident the U.S. will be able to extract all Americans by Aug. 31, Sullivan added.

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Biden to speak on Afghanistan

President Joe Biden is expected to speak on the latest on the situation in Afghanistan at 1 p.m. today from the White House.

Earlier this week, in both public remarks and in an interview with ABC News, the president has stood by the assertion that the U.S. did not anticipate the Taliban would so swiftly rout the Afghan military and take over the country.

During the ABC interview that aired Thursday, Biden said the idea that the Taliban would gain control was based on the notion that the Afghan army – which was larger and much better equipped than the Taliban – would collapse.

"I don't think anybody anticipated that," Biden said.

Amnesty International: Taliban killed ethnic minority members

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban fighters tortured and killed members of an ethnic minority in Afghanistan after recently overrunning their village, Amnesty International said, fueling fears that they will again impose a brutal rule, even as they urged imams to push a message of unity at the first gathering for Friday prayers since the capital was seized.

Terrified that the new de facto rulers would commit such abuses, thousands have raced to Kabul’s airport desperate to flee following the Taliban’s stunning blitz through the country. Others have taken to the streets to protest the takeover — acts of defiance that Taliban fighters have violently suppressed.

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The rights group said that its researchers spoke to eyewitnesses in Ghazni province who recounted how the Taliban killed nine Hazara men in the village of Mundarakht on July 4-6. It said six of the men were shot, and three were tortured to death.

The brutality of the killings was “a reminder of the Taliban’s past record, and a horrifying indicator of what Taliban rule may bring,” said Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty International.

– Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Latest Afghanistan news: Biden to speak; Hazara reportedly killed