A divided U.N. Security Council pressed the Taliban on Monday to live up to pledges to let people leave Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew its forces…
A divided U.N. Security Council pressed the Taliban on Monday to live up to pledges to let people leave Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew its forces, but China and Russia refused to back the resolution, which they portrayed as diverting blame for chaos surrounding the U.S. pullout. Sponsored by the U.S., Britain and France, the measure also calls for letting humanitarian aid flow, upholding human rights and combating terrorism. “The eyes of all Afghans are watching this council, and they expect clear support from the international community. And this lack of unity is a disappointment for us and for them,” French Deputy Ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst said after the vote, in which Russia and China abstained. Still, British Ambassador Barbara Woodward called it “an important step towards a unified international response.” The vote came shortly before the U.S. moved its last troops out of Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war, and four days after a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport gate killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. The bombing has been blamed on an Islamic State group affiliate. French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that the resolution would propose a U.
