UK Enters Final Phase of Afghanistan Rescue Operation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The UK government's evacuation operation in Afghanistan has entered its final stage.

On the 27th (local time), UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in interviews with BBC and Sky News, "The Kabul airport evacuation operation has only a few hours left, and we will not call in more personnel."

Wallace expressed deep regret that "we cannot save everyone," adding, "The visa processing facility at the Baron Hotel outside the airport was already closed early this morning, and the Abbey Gate at the airport has also been shut." He said that 8 to 9 aircraft will go to Kabul airport to rescue about 1,000 people who have completed the processing procedures and are at the airport.

Sky News, citing sources from the UK Ministry of Defense, reported that out of 1,000 British troops, even 100 have already left. The UK evacuated 13,146 people by the previous night. Wallace said that about 8,000 of them are Afghans who worked for the UK government and others, and 4,000 hold British passports.

He said, "The threat is increasing as the time for us to leave approaches." However, he added that the departure was not moved up due to the suicide bombing attack the day before, and the closure of the Baron Hotel facility was done as scheduled.

Wallace said, "It was decided to leave some military equipment behind," adding, "The more we leave behind, the more people we can put on the aircraft."

He stated that while the evacuation operation at the airport is ending, the UK’s Afghan resettlement program remains indefinitely open, so if eligible Afghans can leave for other countries, the UK government will process their procedures there.

When asked whether military action would be taken in response to the attack the day before, Wallace said, "If there is an immediate threat to the UK and British people, we have the right to respond under international law." When asked if this meant redeployment to Afghanistan, he replied, "I will not comment on how we will respond to threats, but we have the capability to deal with such threats."

According to major foreign media such as Bloomberg, Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands have already decided not to prepare any more flights departing from Kabul airport. Norway is also planning to halt its evacuation operation. The United States aims to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan by the 31st of this month and plans to finish the evacuation operation by the same day.

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