FINAL BID FOR FREEDOM
DESPERATE CRUSH AT AIRPORT AS EVACUATION FLIGHTS MAY END TOMORROW
THOUSANDS of people scrambled for last flights out of Afghanistan to Britain yesterday, with UK evacuations expected to end as early as tomorrow.
Desperate families continued to crowd the capital Kabul’s international airport, with many queuing in sewage to escape the Taliban regime.
The RAF still needs to airlift out almost 2,000 Afghan interpreters and other staff who have worked for British forces there, it was revealed.
Officials said an unidentified number of ‘special cases’ could also be added to that list – including LGBTQ advocates, judges and human rights activists.
The Ministry of Defence said 11,474 people have been evacuated to Britain since the Taliban returned to power earlier this month, including nearly 7,000 Afghans.
But time is running out after US president Joe Biden resisted calls to delay the final withdrawal of troops next Tuesday. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab vowed ‘every hour and every day’ would be used to help people flee, but declined to rule out UK forces having to depart by tomorrow.
France, Germany and Poland were also among the countries flying out their last evacuation planes.
More than 70,000 people have been evacuated to Western countries overall. Despite Mr Biden’s knockback on extra time, prime minister Boris Johnson said Britain would try to use ‘leverage’ over the Taliban to ensure anyone wishing to escape beyond next Tuesday would be granted ‘safe passage’.