Turkey’s military has begun withdrawing its troops from Kabul airport, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, apparently scrapping its offer to continue securing Afghanistan’s main link with the outside world in the face of opposition from the Taliban.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, had in recent days reiterated Turkey’s intention of keeping a 500-man battalion at the airport, even after the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s capture of the capital. He said his government was negotiating with the Taliban to persuade it to let Turkey stay.
But the Taliban has repeatedly said that Turkey must leave with other Nato forces or would be viewed as an occupation force. Turkey’s about-face is another sign of how swiftly security in Afghanistan is deteriorating. There is less than a week to go before foreign troops leave the country 20 years after the US ousted the hardline Islamists.