‘Low hundreds’ of Britons in Kabul as evacuations end

THE number of UK nationals left behind in Afghanistan is in the “low hundreds”, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday (31), while celebratory gunfire resounded across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn, after the withdrawal of the last US troops after a 20-year war.

“It is a historical day and a historical moment,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference at the airport. “We are proud of these moments, that we liberated our country from a great power.”

More than 123,000 people were evacuated from Kabul in a massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies over the past two weeks, but tens of thousands of Afghans who helped Western nations during the war were left behind.

Raab added he was unable to give an exact figure for how many British nationals and others potentially eligible to leave Afghanistan had not been evacuated following the Taliban’s takeover.

Britain concluded its airlifts from Kabul last Saturday (28).

“It’s very difficult to give you a firm figure,” he told the BBC. “I can tell you that for UK nationals we’ve secured since April over 5,000, and we’re in the low hundreds (remaining).”

Prime minister Boris Johnson praised Britain’s evacuation efforts as they ended, noting it had airlifted over 15,000 people in the last two weeks.

But the UK government has been criticised for its handling of the crisis, prompted by the decision of the US to end its 20-year Afghan presence. That led the Taliban to recapture power earlier in August, and the West scrambling to exit the country.

Fears are growing in particular that Daesh’s (Islamic State) Afghan offshoot, which claimed responsibility for last week’s suicide attack that left scores of Afghans and 13 US troops dead, could strengthen there.

Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, the head of Britain’s air force, suggested on Tuesday the country’s military would continue to target Daesh inside Afghanistan despite the West’s withdrawal.

“We’ve got to play a global role in the global coalition to defeat Daesh, whether it’s strike, or ... moving troops or equipment into a particular country, at scale and at speed,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “If there’s an opportunity for us to contribute, I am in no doubt that we will be ready to.

“Afghanistan is probably one of the most inaccessible parts of the world, and we’re able to operate there.”