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Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all requests from Afghan citizens who had previously worked as allies of France would be considered for an evacuation, but the list was growing day by day. He called on the United States to strengthen their presence at Kabul airport to facilitate the departure of the poorest.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told the weekly Journal de Dimanche that “hundreds of names” have been added to the list of those who wish to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover last week, and that “all requests would be considered in due course.”
Since the creation of an “air bridge” since last Sunday (via the Abu Dhabi base), the French air force has already transported more than 600 people on five flights, most of them Afghan nationals.
This is in addition to the other 625 people who were transferred between May and July in anticipation of the recovery.
Organizing a rotation of departures has been a considerable effort, says Le Drian, made “extremely difficult by the current chaos in the country” and in particular the tense situation at Kabul airport, where the embassy has been located. inundated with requests from people who say their lives are in danger because they have worked for French structures or civil society groups.
“Our problem is getting to the airport,” he explains, “with the Taliban checkpoints and the entrance blocked by hundreds of people rushing in.”
The UK Ministry of Defense reported on Sunday that seven people had been crushed to death as crowds desperately tried to gain access to the airport.
“Under these conditions, as long as the airport remains open and as long as our staff is safe, we will stay there. It is our collective moral responsibility to ensure that any Afghan citizen threatened by their past alliances is evacuated,” he stressed.
The most difficult airlift in history
He called on the United States, which controls the airport, to maintain operations there.
“I asked them to take their responsibilities and facilitate the evacuations of all foreigners and their Afghan colleagues, and therefore, of any citizen whose life is threatened.”
“I insisted that coordination with allied partners must be more effective and strengthened, and that means staying as long as necessary.”
On the diplomatic front, Le Drian recalled that it was only once the Taliban had fulfilled certain conditions that they would have a chance of being recognized at the international level, otherwise they risked becoming a pariah state.
Meanwhile, the United States has set a deadline to complete evacuations by August 31.
US President Joe Biden described the evacuation operations as “one of the most important and difficult airlifts in history”.
There are as many as 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who must be evacuated, according to the Biden administration.
New threat not specified
The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport due to “security threats”.
No specific reason was given, but a White House official later said Biden had been briefed on “counterterrorism” threats, including the Islamic State group.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave a grim assessment of the success of airlifts.
“They want to evacuate 60,000 people by the end of the month. It is mathematically impossible,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told AFP.
Borrell added that “we have complained” to the Americans that their airport security was too tight and hampered attempts by Afghans who were working for European entry.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Britain’s Mail on Sunday that “no nation will be able to get everyone out” before the US deadline of August 31.
“Maybe the Americans will be allowed to stay longer and they will have our full support if they do,” he said.
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