August 31 Afghanistan-Taliban news

By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Aditi Sangal, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, September 1, 2021
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9:19 p.m. ET, August 30, 2021

Here's the last US soldier leaving Afghanistan

From CNN's Barbara Starr and Ellie Kaufman

Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commanding general of the All American Division XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a US Air Force C-17 on August 30.
Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commanding general of the All American Division XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a US Air Force C-17 on August 30. (From Department of Defense/Twitter)

The Department of Defense has tweeted a picture of Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, boarding a C-17 to depart Kabul.

He was the last soldier to depart the country. 

On Monday, Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, the top general of US Central Command, told reporters that Donahue and the top US diplomat in Kabul, Charge d’Affaires Ross Wilson, were the last two US officials to step off of Afghanistan soil and onto a US military aircraft out of Afghanistan.

“On the last airplane out was Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd airborne division and my grand force commander there, and he was accompanied by our charge Ambassador Ross Wilson, so they came out together,” McKenzie said.
“The state and defense team came out on the last aircraft and were in fact the last people to step on the ground, step on the airplane,” he added.
11:07 p.m. ET, August 30, 2021

An Afghan YouTuber was killed at Kabul airport. Many more fear the worst

From CNN's Masoud Popalzai and Rob Picheta

Four days after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, 20-year-old YouTuber Najma Sadeqi sat on her bed and recorded a final video to tens of thousands of followers.

Usually, her posts would show her cooking or exploring Kabul alongside her friends, in bright clothes and with cheerful music playing in the background. But before Sadeqi even began speaking, the dispirited expression on her face told viewers that this one was different.

"Since we are not allowed to work and go out of our homes, we all had to record you a last video," she began. "And through this video say goodbye to you all."

She told viewers she was too scared to walk the street, and asked them to pray for her. "Life in Kabul has become very difficult, especially for those who used to be free and happy," she said. "I wish it is a bad dream, I wish we can wake up one day," she added, stopping at times to stifle tears. "But I know that it is not possible .... and it is a reality that we are finished."

Days later, Sadeqi was killed in a terror attack outside Kabul's international airport, two of her colleagues told CNN. At least 170 Afghans died in the atrocity, while trying desperately to flee the country.

Sadeqi was in the final year of study at a journalism institute in Kabul. She had recently joined the Afghan Insider YouTube channel, whose videos have amassed more than 24 million views. They gave weekly glimpses into the lives of young content creators, who had been raised amid the relative safety of a post-Taliban age. They also allowed Sadeqi and others to support their families, while following their own aspirations.

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