Denmark To Uzbekistan To Allow Territory To Be Used For Transit Of Humanitarian Evacuation From Kabul

A mother and her baby are evacuated at night from Kabul airport, Afghanistan. (Twitter/@DeptofDefense)

JAKARTA - The United States government announced on Friday local time, a number of countries in Europe and Asia have allowed their territory to be used for transit for the humanitarian evacuation process from Kabul, Afghanistan.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, UAE, UK and Uzbekistan were transit areas for the evacuation process.

The United States is stepping up efforts to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan, as reports of Taliban retaliation against Afghans working with US-led forces increase, forcing foreign powers to speed up evacuation efforts.

However, officials said no evacuation flights left Kabul for nearly six hours on Friday because they had nowhere to go, due to an overflow at Qatar's Al Udeid air base, which already hosts 8,000 Afghan refugees.

As of yesterday, more than 18,000 people had been flown since Taliban insurgents seized the capital Kabul, according to the transatlantic NATO alliance.

"Most of the flights will go from Kabul to Qatar and then these countries. Other countries have also made offers of assistance regarding the relocation of Afghans at risk," Price said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan refugees for 10 days on their way to a third country at the request of the United States, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Evacuation from the city of Kabul, Afghanistan. (Twitter/@DeptofDefense)

Separately, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement Berlin had agreed with Washington to protect people temporarily at Ramstein Air Base. It was not immediately clear which European countries would be involved.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the first flight would land in Germany on Friday evening local time.

"From a military perspective, we need additional capacity, and we are grateful that other countries will help us," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

One of the main hurdles for people wanting to leave Afghanistan continues to be the perilous journey to Kabul airport. The United States has so far been unable to ensure safe passage to US citizens or others. However, the Taliban had previously said they would give guarantees they would not deter people from getting there.

But reports from the field suggest otherwise. Thousands of Afghans clutching paper, children and some belongings still thronged the airport where armed Taliban fighters ordered those without travel documents to return home. In and around the airport, 12 people have been killed since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said.

To note, the Taliban militia managed to enter Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan on Sunday, August 15, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to leave and foreign countries decided to evacuate diplomatic missions and their citizens from Afghanistan.