Guwahati News Desk: With the final departure of the British troops from Kabul, UK’s evacuation operation and its 20-year military involvement in Afghanistan has come to an end.
It was during late Saturday, when the UK government made the announcement that about 1,000 troops who ran an airlift of British nationals and Afghan civilians had departed from Kabul airport, hours after the final evacuation flight for civilians. Adding that most countries apart from the United States had already left.
Before departing, Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Laurie Bristow, said from Kabul airport that it was “time to close this phase of the operation now.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the evacuation effort, referring to it as “heroic”.
Britain acknowledged about it evacuating more than 15,000 people from Kabul in the past two weeks, but that as many as 1,100 Afghans who were entitled to come to the UK have been left behind. For which UK’s top military officer conceded that “we haven’t been able to bring everybody out.”
Through a video posted on Twitter, Bristow said, “But we haven’t forgotten the people who still need to leave…We’ll continue to do everything we can to help them. Nor have we forgotten the brave, decent people of Afghanistan. They deserve to live in peace and security.”
The head of British armed forces, Gen. Nick Carter, said, “We haven’t been able to bring everybody out, and that has been heartbreaking, and there have been some very challenging judgments that have had to be made on the ground.”
However, some British lawmakers who have been trying to help stranded constituents and their families believe the true total is higher.
Photo | AP
