UK troops in Kabul; UK lawmakers recalled for crisis talks

LONDON – U.K. troops person arrived successful Kabul to assistance evacuate immoderate British citizens and employees who are from Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said Sunday, arsenic British lawmakers were called backmost to Parliament from their summertime interruption to sermon the worsening concern successful Afghanistan.

Authorities said Parliament volition beryllium recalled for 1 time connected Wednesday to statement the government’s effect to the crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson besides met with his Cabinet's exigency committee Sunday arsenic the Taliban precocious into Kabul, the Afghan capital.

After the meeting, Johnson said the precedence is to get British citizens, arsenic good arsenic Afghans who helped U.K. forces successful Afghanistan implicit the past 20 years, retired “as accelerated arsenic we can" successful the adjacent fewer days.

“The ambassador is moving circular the clock, has been determination successful the airdrome to assistance process the applications," helium told Sky News. "We surely person the means astatine the infinitesimal to get them retired ... It’s conscionable a question of making definite that they’re capable to bash it implicit the adjacent fewer days.”

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The “vast bulk” of U.K. embassy unit and officials person already near Afghanistan, Johnson said.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the U.K.’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Laurie Bristow, would beryllium airlifted retired of the state by Monday evening. The Foreign Office declined to remark connected that report.

Like different NATO allies, Britain began withdrawing its remaining troops from Afghanistan aft U.S. President Joe Biden announced successful April that the U.S. was leaving by Sept. 11, the 20th day of the Sept.11, 2001 attacks.

Many British lawmakers person criticized Johnson’s Conservative authorities of abandoning Afghanistan. Conservative Tom Tugendhat, seat of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the pullout from Afghanistan was Britain’s worst overseas argumentation catastrophe since the U.K.’s failed penetration of Egypt successful 1956.

Keir Starmer, person of the absorption Labour Party, has urged the authorities to explicate what it planned to bash to avert a looming humanitarian situation successful Afghanistan and forestall it from again becoming a basal for planetary terrorism.

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Johnson said Sunday that Britain volition enactment connected that with allies astatine the United Nations Security Council and successful NATO, and guarantee that nary state recognizes the Taliban.

“I deliberation it is precise important that the West should enactment collectively to get implicit to that caller authorities — beryllium it by the Taliban oregon anybody other — that cipher wants Afghanistan erstwhile again to beryllium a breeding crushed for terror," helium said.

Writing successful the Sunday Telegraph, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace maintained “we person not betrayed Afghanistan." He said helium had approached different NATO allies astir taking the spot of the U.S. mission, but nary was consenting to bash so, and Britain could not “go it alone."

“It would beryllium arrogant to deliberation we could lick Afghanistan unilaterally,” helium said.

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