Afghan Chaos As Europeans Scramble To Evacuate Kabul

Chaotic conditions have been reported outside Kabul airport as European governments rush to bring home their citizens as well as Afghan colleagues.

French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Czech and Polish planes have all left in recent hours. Shots were reported near the airport on Wednesday, as crowds approached.

The Dutch government said the situation was “awful”, but was widely criticised for its failure to prepare for the Taliban’s takeover of the capital. Staff at the Dutch embassy were so taken by surprise on Sunday that they said they did not have time tell Afghan colleagues they were going.

The head of the Dutch military union Anne-Marie Snels expressed concern that there was little time left to evacuate interpreters and local staff saying that if they don’t succeed in the next 48 to 72 hours it’ll be too late.

Several European governments sent planes to Kabul on Wednesday, and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said earlier: “We cannot abandon [Afghan colleagues] and we are doing everything we can to offer them shelter in the EU”.

France revealed it had flown to safety 25 French nationals and 184 Afghans “in need of protection”. On board the flight to Abu Dhabi were four Dutch nationals, an Irish citizen and two Kenyans.

While France is using Abu Dhabi as an air bridge, Germany is using Uzbekistan for its operations. After an initial flight landed in Frankfurt late on Tuesday, a second flight flew to Tashkent on Wednesday.

However, there was an outcry when it emerged that Dutch embassy staff had fled the Taliban arrival in Kabul without telling their Afghan colleagues. There was also criticism in Sweden that its embassy staff had been airlifted out while Afghan staff and interpreters were left behind.