Attackers struck Kabul after Canada’s last flight
OTTAWA — Canada has officially stopped its evacuation operations in Afghanistan and most Canadian forces have left after pulling out about 3,700 Canadian nationals and Afghan refugees, but leaving thousands more stranded at the hands of the Taliban.
“We wish we could have stayed longer and rescued everyone who was so desperate to leave. That we could not is truly heartbreaking, but the circumstances on the ground are rapidly deteriorated. This is an extraordinary humanitarian crisis,” acting Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre admitted, his voice shaking slightly with emotion, during a briefing on Thursday morning.
Eyre listed Canadian citizens and permanent residents, members of their families, citizens of allied countries, people with “durable” ties to Canada and Afghan refugees approved for relocation by the government as those airlifted out of Afghanistan in what is described as the “largest military evacuation in history.”
“Throughout the operation, we received word of multiple imminent attacks, which necessitated changes to our plans on the ground, and demanded maximum adaptability and agility on the part of our people,” he continued, adding that this was also the “most complex and dangerous” evacuation operation “in modern history.”
Canada’s last flight out of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport was roughly eight hours before the 8 a.m. EDT press conference, Eyre said. In total, the country airlifted an estimated 3,700 people out of Afghanistan before the government put an end to the evacuation operation.
Less than one hour after the end of the Canadian briefing mentioning “imminent attacks,” U.S. Pentagon’s press secretary John Kirby confirmed on social media that a “complex attack” led to a first explosion at the Abbey Gate outside of Kabul airport, and a second explosion occurred at a separate area later.
“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties. We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate,” he wrote on Twitter.
Shortly after, a CAF spokesperson confirmed that all Canadian military personnel are “safe and accounted for,” but that the situation “remains dangerous.”
At least 13 people, including some children, were killed in the attacks.
According to Daniel Mills, assistant deputy minister of operations at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), roughly 8,000 people had applied to be evacuated by Canada. It was unclear how many were left behind, because an unknown number may have successfully fled Afghanistan via other means such as land borders.
Canada’s top soldier also took offense to what he called “misinformed” public criticism about the evacuation mission due to the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) need to keep operational details of the mission “quiet.”
Many experts have criticized Canada’s evacuation plans in Afghanistan as “slow” and accuse the government of “abandoning” many Afghans that assisted the CAF and our country’s diplomats throughout the two-decades long conflict in Afghanistan.
“(CAF members’) experiences have not been made any easier by the fact that operation was carried out under intense, and often misinformed public scrutiny and criticism,” Eyre said. When pressed for examples, he mentioned recent reports of a video that appeared to show Canadian special forces ignoring Afghans waving what they say are Canadian exit documents.
Soon enough, “you’ll hear stories about how the dedication, determination, and compassion and the heroism of our Canadian troops saved and changed 1000s of lives. You’ll hear about the CAF members who cared for a new mother and the baby she’d given birth to approximately 15 hours before boarding a flight, making sure she and the infant made it to safety,” Eyre said.
He also admitted that Canada was not expecting the Afghan capital to fall so quickly to Taliban forces.
“We were surprised by the speed of the Taliban takeover of Kabul. And I’m sure there’ll be much ink spilt about this,” Eyre said.
Shortly after the briefing by Canadian officials, Liberal party Leader Justin Trudeau made a campaign speech in Quebec City Thursday morning during which he made no mention of the situation in Afghanistan.
It was only when questioned by media on the situation and reports of explosions near the Kabul airport that Trudeau said it was a “very difficult day.”
“The temporary air bridge that was put in place by the Americans over the past number of weeks allowed us to get out 10s of thousands of people as an international community, and Canada will have been able to lift out about 3,700 people. We have taken as much if not more advantage of this temporary opportunity than just about any of our allies,” he said.
He also insisted that Canada’s engagement with Afghanistan “is not done,” but rather that this was just the end of an “important” phase of the government’s plan to relocated 20,000 Afghans in the coming months.
During a campaign stop in Winnipeg, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Canada’s evacuation operation as a failure.
“It is with a heavy heart that I say yes, it was a failure,” he said.