Kenneth Mackenzie has taken over from four-star General Scott Miller as the US ends its 20-year war in Afghanistan.
U.S. embassy official in Afghanistan has resigned Monday law at a formal ceremony in the capital, the latest new flag to mark America’s longest-running war.
At a time when the Taliban are making progress across the country, General Austin “Scott” Miller – a senior official in Afghanistan – ordered General Kenneth McKenzie, an AFP correspondent at the Kabul ceremony, said.
Miller has been in Afghanistan since 2018, but in May he was accused by senior President Joe Biden of preparing for the final deployment of US troops, to be completed by the end of August.
As of May, most of the 2,500 U.S. troops remaining at that time have left, and the US has also handed over to Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base troops, where coalition forces have been working against Taliban and militias for the past 20 years.
About 650 U.S. members are expected to stay in Kabul to protect Washington’s additional buildings, where Monday’s ceremony took place.
Afghan dignitaries and military personnel attended the event in the green zone.
President Joe Biden has also said the US will continue to work in Afghanistan with aid.
The US is also committed to spending $ 4.4bn a year to support Afghan security forces by 2024.
The Taliban is in control
The split took place at the strong Resolute Support headquarters within Kabul during a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
During the flag-raising ceremony, Miller remembered US and NATO troops killed in the nearly 20-year war and thousands of Afghans who lost their lives.
He warned that the ongoing violence in Afghanistan is exacerbating political problems.
“It is important for the military to maintain peace and stability in Afghanistan … But we know that with the violence, it will be difficult for them to resolve the political crisis,” he said.
The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, backed by the United States and NATO, have begun protesting in other parts of the country, but surprisingly the Afghan government forces seem to have abandoned the war.
In recent weeks, the Taliban have achieved a number of favorable territories, especially along the border with Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Afghanistan’s security adviser Hamdullah Mohib, who attended the meeting, said the withdrawal of the US and NATO had left an opportunity for Afghan soldiers to return to the war without pay, sometimes without food and ammunition.
In a statement after the ceremony, Mohib said the main reason for his resignation was the lack of recruiting aircraft.
In the meantime, the government is also working to secure better territories and protect its cities against the Taliban’s progress.
The Taliban control one-third of Afghanistan’s territories in 421. The Taliban are said to control 85 percent of the governments known to be extremists.
