European Countries Including the UK Close Afghan Embassies... Preparing for Staff Withdrawal

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] As the Afghan government effectively surrendered to the Islamic militant group Taliban on the 15th (local time), European countries including the United Kingdom and Germany are hastening to withdraw personnel by closing or temporarily relocating their embassies in Afghanistan.

According to major foreign media outlets, Germany closed its embassy in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on the same day and is preparing to evacuate diplomats and staff.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister, confirmed the closure of the embassy in Kabul via Twitter and stated that all embassy personnel have evacuated to the military zone of Kabul airport.

The German government's crisis response team is scheduled to convene on the same day to initiate emergency measures to safely evacuate German personnel and Afghans who have previously worked for German institutions.

The German Foreign Ministry also issued a travel warning on the same day, urging its citizens to leave Afghanistan due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation. German media outlet Bild reported that two military aircraft received orders to depart for Kabul on the night of the 15th.

The Taliban entered Kabul on the same day, effectively taking control of Afghanistan and beginning preparations for a power transfer.

Accordingly, Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada are successively withdrawing or reducing embassy staff in Afghanistan or temporarily deploying troops to repatriate their nationals.

The Times reported on the 15th, citing senior government officials, that the United Kingdom is also deploying military forces to evacuate the ambassador and staff stationed in Afghanistan and to close the embassy.

A UK government official said, "The air force will evacuate diplomats and others. There is no trust in the Taliban."

The UK has begun preparations to withdraw a total of 5,500 people, including 500 UK government employees such as embassy staff, 1,800 to 2,000 local interpreters, and 3,000 aid workers.

The Dutch government announced on the same day that it moved its embassy in Kabul near Kabul airport to keep it operational as long as possible. The Dutch Ministry of Defense also explained that it sent one military aircraft to Kabul to evacuate remaining personnel.

In addition, Italy, Sweden, and others have announced plans to evacuate their diplomats or some local staff.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.