United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests this part of the US-led airlift could be completed before US President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline. Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, are struggling to get into the Kabul airport.

Blinken said that the US State Department estimates there were about 6,000 Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan when the airlift began August 14, and that about 4,500 of them have been evacuated so far.

The 6,000 figure is the first public estimate by the State Department of how many Americans were seeking to get out when the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan.

“Some are understandably very scared,” Blinken told a US State Department news conference.

About 500 Americans have been contacted with instructions on when and how to get to the chaotic Kabul airport to catch evacuation flights.

In addition, 1,000, or perhaps fewer, are being contacted to determine whether they still want to leave. Blinken said that some of these may already have left the country, some may want to remain and some may not actually be American citizens.

Of the 1,000, the number who are “actively seeking assistance” to leave Afghanistan “is lower — likely significantly lower,” Blinken said.

Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco on Tuesday citing “hostile actions” from its neighbor, as relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate following an extended conflict mainly revolving around the Western Sahara.

At a news conference in Algiers, Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra accused Morocco of using Pegasus spyware against Algerian officials, supporting a separatist group, and reneging on bilateral commitments.

Last week, Algeria claimed, without evidence, that deadly wildfires were caused by what it said are Moroccan-backed groups it has labelled terrorists.

“Algeria has decided to break diplomatic relations with Morocco starting today,” Lamamra said. “The Moroccan kingdom has never stopped its hostile actions against Algeria,” he added.

Despite the break in diplomatic relations, consulates in each country will remain open, Lamamra said.

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry responded to the move, saying in a statement on Twitter it regretted the “completely unjustified but expected decision, in view of the escalation observed in recent weeks.”

“Morocco categorically rejects the fallacious, even absurd, pretexts underlying the decision,” the statement continued, adding that the kingdom would remain a “loyal partner for the Algerian people.”

Relations between the two North African countries have been strained for decades over territorial tensions.

Morocco claims large parts of Western Sahara, while Algeria backs the Polisario Front, a group opposing Moroccan control of the Western Sahara and controlling part of the vast, arid territory.

Although Morocco continues to claim large parts of the Western Sahara, this is not recognized internationally.

Former US president Donald Trump had promised to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, and Rabat normalized relations with Israel in return.

The move prompted fears in Algeria, however, that Israel might provide military support for Morocco.

While the border between Morocco and Algeria has been closed since 1994, diplomatic relations have not been broken since they were restored in 1988 following an earlier spat.