US to provide 37 Black Hawk helicopters, 2 A-29 Super Tucano to Afghanistan

Washington [US], June 30 (ANI): The US will provide 37 Black Hawk helicopters and two A-29 Super Tucano fixed wind aircraft to Afghanistan, sources told ToloNews.

The Biden administration conveyed this to the Afghan delegation in Washington.

Currently, Afghan forces have more than 160 helicopters and aircraft.

On Monday, Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, at a press conference said that the US will end its military presence in the country but will continue its assistance to Afghanistan and the Afghan air forces.

“A new chapter has been opened in US and Afghanistan relations,” he said. In his meeting with the Afghan delegation, US President Joe Biden promised the Afghan leaders a “sustained” partnership.

This comes in the middle of a surge in violence as the Taliban has increased its activities since the start of the US-led forces pull out from May 1.

As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country’s civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing.

The top US general there, Austin Miller, warned Tuesday that the worsening violence could lead to civil war, CNN reported citing news reports.

According to the New York Times, US officials expect the entire withdrawal of their forces from the country will be completed in less than a week by the July 4 national holiday.

As deadly clashes in Afghanistan continue to intensify, hundreds of more civilians have taken up arms against the Taliban in support of the government forces in several Afghan provinces.

People in over ten Afghan districts have taken up arms against the Taliban in just a week following the back-to-back fall of dozens of districts to the group.

Meanwhile, Biden has announced a series of measures to provide assistance to the South Asian country amid troop withdrawal, including donating three million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to the people of Afghanistan through the COVAX facility.

Additionally, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is also supporting Afghan efforts to respond to the critical shortfalls in oxygen and medical ventilation support by providing emergency and structural assistance. (ANI)