The world in the week ahead
AFGHANISTAN: With the deadline for evacuations tomorrow, tension between the Taliban and foreign troops is rising at the airport in Kabul. Taliban officials said there would be “consequences” if the US and its allies overstayed their welcome at Kabul airport.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said evacuations would be completed as promised. Chaos erupted that day during attacks at the airport that were claimed by the Islamic State, and killed more than 110 people, including 13 US soldiers with more than 1 330 left injured.
Tomorrow will be monumental as tough decisions will need to be made by international parties. Will the US stick to its promise? How will the G7 leaders respond in evacuating its citizens? What will China’s influence be if things do not go according to the Taliban’s plans? China has supported the goal for an “inclusive government” and encouraged leaders from the G7 not to interfere in its internal affairs.
Amid the terror chaos in Kabul, several thousand anti-Taliban fighters have rallied in the Panjshir Valley outside the capital. South China Morning Post reported that an armed-resistance group, known as the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), has taken back control of three northern districts – Puli Hisar, Dih Salah and Bano.
With uncertainty surrounding Afghanistan’s new leaders and the rights of women, the Afghan people also face food shortages and could face a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says, Afghanistan has around 20 000 metric tons of food in the country with 7 000 more on the way but key supplies are being held up at Kabul airport. Commercial flights are yet to open, and the WFP is in need of 54000 metric tons of food to feed up to 18.5 million Afghans.
HAITI: It has been two weeks since Haitians were hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 2 000 people and destroyed 50 000 homes.
The subject will probably dominate the news for the next coming months as it is the second time the impoverished Caribbean nation has been hit by an earthquake. During the 2010 earthquake, $13 billion was donated to rescue Haiti from disaster but, this time, help has been slow in coming.
Some aid distributions in recent days have been chaotic, pictures have been shared on social media showing crowds swarming aid trucks and airfields. According to the NPR organisation, people in remote areas have had to wait a week or more for significant aid to begin arriving.
In addition to the unmet needs for food and shelter, providing medical care is becoming more critical as time passes. Injuries that may once have been relatively simple to treat, like scratches and broken bones, become complicated.
The devastation has also revived anger over relief efforts after Haiti’s last massive earthquake in 2010. The botched aid response had reports of misuse of funds and missing funds.
After the 2010 disaster, activists urged the public to make donations to local groups directly connected to people rather than give to large, disconnected organisations. The focus will be on which international donors will step up and assist the country in its rebuilding and repair efforts. No amount has been released in terms of how much would be needed to fix the damage.