Afghans Fleeing to UK Reportedly Advised to ‘Make it to a Third Country’ as Airlift Deadline Looms
05:46 GMT 26.08.2021 (Updated: 15:15 GMT 28.05.2023)
© REUTERS / Ben Shread/UK MOD Crown copyright 2021/Handout
Subscribe
Western nations have airlifted over 80,000 people, foreigners and Afghans, since 14 August as part of the massive evacuation effort underway at Kabul airport, with the Taliban* warning on Tuesday that the US must adhere to the 31 August deadline to pull out all forces from the country.
As UK troops rush to airlift some 1,500 remaining interpreters and others who were employed by them in Afghanistan amid a looming 31 August deadline, Afghans eligible for relocation to Britain have been advised to try “to get to the border”, reported The Guardian.
According to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, there are few slots remaining on British RAF rescue flights and using a third country such as Pakistan or Iran has been suggested as an option for those who had not been summoned to Kabul International airport for a flight out.
“If they think they can make it to a third country that may be better and safer. I recommend trying to get to the border,” a source cited Wallace as saying in a Zoom call on Wednesday afternoon with a cross-party group of MPs.
The UK is said to be mulling setting up “third country” processing centres for those eligible for resettlement or asylum. Wallace ostensibly added:
“…it is higher profile going to the airport – that is where the Taliban will be focusing their efforts at the moment.”
However, there is no indication, according to the outlet, that Afghans who have been summoned by western officials to Hamid Karzai International airport for evacuation should alter their plans.
Around 60% of the people we've evacuated from Kabul in the last 10 days are Afghans eligible to move to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. The Armed Forces have worked incredibly hard to evacuate nearly 4,000 former interpreters, staff and their families. pic.twitter.com/My7wuEydEy
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 23, 2021
The UK is currently focused on airlifting interpreters and others who worked for the British government in Afghanistan, as they are eligible for the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (Arap). “The number of Arap people we still have to get out is about 1,500,” Wallace said, according to the outlet.
Wallace’s purported advice regarding using a “third country” option is not “a message of despair”, according to cited defence sources. They added that relocation schemes would remain open as long as required.
Ben Wallace purportedly stopped short of offering an exact time for the UK’s final evacuation flight.
“What we don’t want to do is trigger a surge or a stampede and we’ve already seen a number of people killed. I can’t give you an exact time. It isn’t long, it is a really difficult position we’re in,” the defence secretary is cited as telling MPs.
Defence sources were cited as saying on Tuesday that there would be from 24 to 36 hours for the British military to evacuate.
Massive Airlift
The deadline for international troops, foreign nationals and Afghans who want to leave Afghanistan is August 31, and the timeframe for evacuating civilians is tighter, as some 1,000 British troops are also to be airlifted out of the country.
A total of over 80,000 people have been airlifted by western forces, with 19,000 people flown out on 90 planes in the past 24 hours.
Some 11,474 people have been evacuated by the RAF since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August, when the Islamist group culminated its sweeping offensive against government forces by seizing the capital, Kabul.
However, besides the fast-approaching deadline for all foreign troop withdrawal, that Taliban on Tuesday warned Washington to adhere to, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) warned of an “ongoing and high threat of terrorist attack” at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Wednesday night. UK nationals near the airport were urged to leave and find a place of safety.
US intelligence had obtained "a very specific threat stream" indicating that a Daesh* affiliate, ISIS-K* based in Afghanistan’s Khorasan province, was planning to attack people outside Kabul International Airport, CNN reported earlier, citing an anonymous US defence official. This reportedly raised concerns regarding the security of the airport, prompting extra measures, such as concrete barriers installed around the evacuation processing centre by the airport.
“There is an ongoing and high threat of terrorist attack. Do not travel to Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport. If you are in the area of the airport, move away to a safe location and await further advice,” the UK Foreign Office warned on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division patrol Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 17, 2021. Picture taken August 17, 2021. U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Taylor Crul/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY./File Photo/File Photo
© REUTERS / US AIR FORCE
On the same day as the warning came, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference that only foreigners would be allowed to reach the airport for evacuation flights. He blamed chaos at Hamid Karzai International airport for the group’s decision.
“The road to Kabul airport is closed for locals and open to foreigners… We are not going to allow Afghans to leave,” Mujahid said.
*The Taliban and Daesh (also known as ISIS or IS) along with its affiliates are terrorist organisations outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
