Seven people in the crowds near Kabul airport died amid the chaos of those fleeing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The MoD said in a statement on Sunday that "conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible".
It added: "Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul."
On Saturday, a Sky News correspondent watched as UK paratroopers began pulling people from the mayhem before medics checked vital signs of those left on the floor after a crush and then covered bodies in white sheets.
Sky Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said he saw at least three bodies.
British soldiers have been inside the airport boundary attempting to help evacuate British people and Afghans with the right to come to the UK.
Thousands of people gathered outside the gates of the Hamid Karzai International Airport trying to escape from the country, fearful about what would happen following the Taliban's lightning takeover of the country.
On Wednesday, 17 people were injured in a stampede at a gate to the airport and, on Monday, at least five people were killed during chaos on the ground and at least one fell from a US military plane after hundreds of desperate people flooded on to runways at the airport.
In other developments:
• US military planes have been making diving landings due to a threat from the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
• The German embassy in Kabul echoed US warnings not to approach the airport because of potential security threats.
• The Taliban imposed some order around the airport on Sunday, said witnesses.
• Ex UK PM Tony Blair called US President Joe Biden's decision to pull out US troops "imbecilic".
• Nearly 4,000 Afghan and British nationals have been evacuated, according to the latest figures, along with 17,000 extracted by the US.
Meanwhile, a soldier who was filmed by Sky News holding a baby who'd been passed over razor wire, whose photo has been printed on the front page of nearly every British national newspaper and beamed around the world by the Associated Press wire service, insisted he was just doing his job.
Earlier, as they tweeted a picture of Afghan civilians and British citizens sitting in a the hold of a military transport plane which was evacuating them to the UK, the MoD said it could not be prouder of UK troops.
It said: "The entire Defence community could not be prouder of the work being done right now by @BritishArmy @RoyalAirForce @RoyalNavy @RoyalMarines in Kabul. Everyday they are saving lives."
Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, told the AFP news agency that it was "mathematically impossible" for the US to evacuate all Afghans with travel permits by the 31 August deadline.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Saturday night, Sir Laurie Bristow, who is in Kabul, said: "The scale of this effort is enormous and is without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat.
"Lives are at stake and I am incredibly proud of the tenacious efforts of my team during these challenging times, with military and civilian staff working together to successfully evacuate thousands of people in the last week."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FmZ2hhbmlzdGFuLXNldmVuLXBlb3BsZS1raWxsZWQtaW4tY3Jvd2QtbmVhci1rYWJ1bC1haXJwb3J0LXVrLW1pbmlzdHJ5LW9mLWRlZmVuY2UtMTIzODc2MTHSAXpodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9hbXAvYWZnaGFuaXN0YW4tc2V2ZW4tcGVvcGxlLWtpbGxlZC1pbi1jcm93ZC1uZWFyLWthYnVsLWFpcnBvcnQtdWstbWluaXN0cnktb2YtZGVmZW5jZS0xMjM4NzYxMQ?oc=5
2021-08-22 08:37:30Z
52781790291094
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar