U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price faced questions on the current situation in Afghanistan during a news briefing Thursday, after the Taliban seized power in Kabul on Sunday as foreign forces withdrew following a two-decades-long war.
Price said 6,000 people were currently fully processed and waiting to board planes at the primary airport in Kabul, and that Washington had "significantly expanded" how many American citizens, locally employed staff and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants are eligible for departure.
The State Department is also sending consular staffing teams to Qatar and Kuwait to help with the transit effort and is preparing teams to go to other processing locations, he said.
Price added that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with G7 foreign ministers, and that "all leaders underscored the imperative of safe passage of those who wish to leave Afghanistan and the need for an inclusive political resolution that protects the fundamental human rights of all Afghans."
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