COLCHESTER troops will help evacuate another 4,000 people from Afghanistan with about 6,000 already having been rescued from the Middle East.
The Ministry of Defence says almost 6,000 people have been evacuated as part of the rescue mission in Kabul, including embassy staff, British nationals and those eligible under the Afghan Relocation scheme.
Efforts are being supported by 1,000 British troops on the ground, including Paratroopers from Colchester’s 16 Air Assault Brigade.
Brigadier Dan Blanchford, the most senior UK military officer on the ground in Kabul, said British armed forces personnel had “witnessed some harrowing scenes”, with at least seven Afghan civilians confirmed to have died outside the airfield gates in the chaotic crowds.
He said: “The UK Joint Task Force is at the front end of a massive cross-government evacuation operation, delivering a highly complex and demanding mission at range and in difficult circumstances.
“The horrific difficulties which families and individuals have in getting to the airport are clear and my men and women on the frontline have seen and witnessed some harrowing scenes.
“I am proud of the work which our armed forces, who have shown professionalism and compassion in challenging circumstances.
“We are redoubling our efforts to speed up the processes and support the most vulnerable.
“To that end, we have flown forward 30,000 litres of water a day, food for 5,000 people and have purchased and are distributing 2,700 nappies, 3,600 bottles of baby milk and 2,025 sanitary packs.”
In total, 5,725 people have been repatriated since the mission began on August 13, with 3,100 of them Afghan individuals and their families.
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Armed Force Minister James Heappey said yesterday UK efforts would now turn to evacuating about 1,800 more UK nationals and 2,200 Afghans who helped British forces.
But he said there are “thousands more who we would like to get out if there is the time and the capacity”.
Mr Heappey said: “The fact is we will get out as many as we possibly can but we have been clear throughout there is a hard reality that we won’t be able to get out everybody that we want to, and that it is important that we start to reassure people in Kabul – because I know that people in Afghanistan are acutely aware of what is being said in our media in the UK – that the airlift is not the only route out of Afghanistan, not the only route to the UK.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace held a phone call with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, to discuss allied efforts in the Afghan capital.
President Joe Biden has said he wants US troops out of the country by end end of the month, with the MoD saying the evacuation process would “run as long as the security situation allows.”
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