Daily Evacuation Brief | August 26, 2022

Aug 26, 2022

EARTHQUAKE IN KABUL — A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Kabul on Thursday. Some light damage was reported, but no injuries or deaths resulted from the mild quake.
SEARCHES IN MAZAR — House-to-house searches resumed in Mazar-i-Sharif with a focus in Waleed, Ishani, Imani, and Zerahat. Thorough car searches have also been reported.
STREAMLINED SIV PROCESS — A State Department spokesperson told VOA that the US government is increasing its resources for processing Afghans who qualify for the Special Immigrant Visa program. No details were provided about where these resources will specifically be directed or how they are expected to streamline the process.
“IMMORAL” WEBSITE BAN — The Taliban’s Ministry of Communications and Information has implemented an extensive ban on 23.4 million websites they deemed subversive or immoral. Authorities expressed outrage that Facebook/Meta continues to refuse to moderate content and will not cooperate with the Taliban regime.
MORE U.S. DRONES? — Taliban leadership claimed that US drones continue to fly over Afghanistan and suggested that the war has not truly concluded. Several eyewitness reports of drones in the skies over Afghanistan have been posted to social media over the past two weeks; however, ownership of the drones is unclear. The US government has not confirmed or denied the drone flights, but a few analysts in Europe have suggested that another al-Qaeda target is in the country and the drones may be searching for this individual. The identity of the reputed al-Qaeda figure was not revealed and corroborating evidence was not provided. No further information was available.
MORE FLOODING — Catastrophic flooding continues in Afghanistan with an official death toll of 182 for the month of August. More rain has been predicted for twenty-four provinces over the next two days. The road to Spin Boldak gate has been closed until further notice due to dangerous conditions.

`NEXT 24 HOURS`

UPCOMING FLOODING — More flooding will affect 24 provinces over the next two days as the Taliban have officially requested assistance in the wake of catastrophic flooding. Travel will be extremely hazardous and should be avoided if possible.

`SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS`

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Afghanistan’s former President Ashraf Ghani on the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover

By Nick Schifrin & Dan Sagalyn – PBS

Last August, the Taliban swept into Kabul after conquering the country at a torrid pace. Afghan security forces did not resist, the American withdrawal was thrown into further chaos, and the Afghan government dissolved in hours. Ashraf Ghani, the country's former president who fled Kabul in a helicopter, joins with Nick Schifrin to discuss the withdrawal and the Taliban takeover.

`AFGHAN NEWS`

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After a Year of Taliban Rule, Advances for Afghan Women and Youth Have All but Evaporated

By Belquis Ahmadi & Matthew Parkes – USIP

Despite prior assurances that they had moderated their positions, the past year of Taliban rule has been marred by a disturbing rollback of women’s and…

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The Taliban spiritual leader Sheikh Haibatullah will finally retire to select Mullah Yaqub as his successor

By Ajmal Sohail – Modern Diplomacy

Based on the intelligence report, On August 18, a vast conference of Taliban was convened in Kandahar province, meanwhile from August 20 to August 22, representatives of…