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by IANS |
Canberra, May 25 (IANS) Australia will close its embassy in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, where the Australian troops are scheduled to withdraw later this year, an official statement issued here on Tuesday said.
According to the joint media statement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne, the embassy building will be closed on May 28, reports Xinhua news agency.
"Our residential representation in Afghanistan and the Australian Embassy in Kabul will be closed at this time," they said.
"It is Australia's expectation that this measure will be temporary and that we will resume a permanent presence in Kabul once circumstances permit," the statement said.
"The departure of the international forces and hence Australian forces from Afghanistan over the next few months brings with it an increasingly uncertain security environment where the Government has been advised that security arrangements could not be provided to support our ongoing diplomatic presence," the statement added.
Morrison announced in April that Australian troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September this year.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the embassy has been open since 2006.
US President Joe Biden announced on April 14 that all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan before September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks in America.
Australia announced to withdraw its troops from Afghansitan a day after the US announcement.
As the security situation in Afghansitan remains complicated and terrorism keeps festering, analysts deem the US decision as irresponsible and warn against an intensifying civil conflict and more rampant terrorist acts.
The security situation in the war-torn Afghanistan has been deteriorating over the past weeks as Taliban militants have intensified their offensives by attacking government forces and conducting suicide bombing attacks.
