- Title: On board an evacuation flight: Afghans leave their homeland on sombre journey
- Date: 24th August 2021
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 24, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS POINT OF VIEW OF VEHICLES TRAVELLING ON AIRPORT TARMAC TO AIRCRAFT VEHICLES WAITING, PERSON WALKING ON TARMAC WING AND TAIL OF AIRCRAFT PEOPLE STANDING NEAR AIRCRAFT, WAITING FOR PASSENGERS PERSON WALKING UP STAIRWAY, SPEAKING TO FLIGHT CREW AIRCRAFT PEOPLE WALKING PAST VEHICLES ON TARMAC TOWARDS AIRCRAFT AIRPLANE'S WING, TARMAC WINDOW FROM INSIDE OF AIRCRAFT FLIGHT ATTENDANT MAKING CHECKS, PASSENGERS SEATED WOMAN WALKING ALONG AISLE WITH YOUNG CHILDREN VARIOUS OF WING OF PLANE AFGHAN EVACUEES SEATED IN AIRPLANE, WAITING FOR TAKEOFF VARIOUS OF FLIGHT ATTENDANT MAKING FINAL CHECKS WINDOW FROM INSIDE AIRCRAFT AS PLANE TAXIS POINT OF VIEW OF TARMAC AS AIRCRAFT TAXIS BEFORE TAKEOFF POINT OF VIEW OF KABUL AIRPORT AS AIRCRAFT TAXIS BEFORE TAKEOFF POINT OF VIEW OF TARMAC AS AIRCRAFT TAXIS BEFORE TAKEOFF VARIOUS AERIALS OF LIGHTS FROM CITY OF KABUL AS AIRCRAFT IS IN THE AIR
- Embargoed: 7th September 2021 04:42
- Keywords: Afghanistan Islamabad Islamist Kabul Pakistan Taliban aircraft evacuation evacuees insurgents militants plane
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERN0N5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Afghan evacuees on board a flight sat in sombre silence on Tuesday (August 24) as the aircraft carried them out of their homeland, ahead of an August 31 deadline to airlift foreign forces and their allies to safety.
The Taliban seized power with their takeover of the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after the war launched following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Panicked Afghans and foreigners have thronged the airport since, clamoring to catch any flight out. Many fear reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the Taliban enforced while in power from 1996 to 2001.
The White House said that as of Monday (August 23), the U.S. had helped facilitate the evacuation of 48,000 people since Aug.14. The U.S. military is in control of the Kabul airport.
The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has stoked fears of an exodus of Afghans and a repeat of Europe's 2016/16 migration crisis, when more than a million people from the Middle East fled to the continent and resettled there.
Leaders of the Group of Seven countries were set to discuss on Tuesday whether to seek an extension to the August 31 deadline for the evacuation of thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan and whether to recognize or sanction a Taliban government. A Taliban official said foreign forces had not sought an extension and it would not be granted if they had. Washington said negotiations were continuing. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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