A plane from Afghanistan landed in the Czech Republic, the minister convened a crisis staff
The evacuation was approached by the Czech Republic, which happened rapidly after the Afghan diplomat and the situation and the Islamist Movement of the Taliban virtually took control of the whole, including Kabul. According to Sunday’s statement by Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek (CSSD), the rescue operation will continue. He convened a meeting of the crisis staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The first evacuated Czechs and our Afghan co-workers, including women and small children, are safe in the Czech Republic. We are continuing our evacuation efforts, I will convene another crisis staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a moment,” Kulhánek said on Twitter.
The Army Airbus took off from Kabul on Sunday around 11 pm CET. On this occasion, the Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) stated that, given the rapidly deteriorating situation at Kabul International Airport, he considered the departure of the Czech plane to be a miracle.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) informed about the departure of the Czech special from Afghanistan on Twitter. In his contribution, he thanked Foreign Minister Kulhánek and the Czech Army. “I’m sorry we’re not more specific. We will not provide detailed information until the end of the rescue operation, “the prime minister added. He wants to publish more after everyone is safe.
The first evacuated Czechs and our Afghan co-workers, including women and young children, are safe in the Czech Republic. We continue our evacuation efforts, at @mzvcr I’m convening another crisis staff in a moment. Thanks to everyone involved. I can’t comment on more details at this time.
– Jakub Kulhanek (@JakubKulhanek) August 16, 2021
Kulhánek noted that the rescue operation would continue. The state representatives did not state how many evacuation flights are planned. According to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Ondřej Veselý (ČSSD), the rescue operation concerns less than a hundred people. The Czech Republic is evacuating two diplomats from Afghanistan, including Ambassador Baloun, a KAMBA Military Police unit, local Czech embassy staff and interpreters assisting the Czech army.
Shooting at the airport
In recent days, the Czech government has been criticized for its slow response. Critics also point out that the aid does not apply to all Afghan interpreters. Government officials reject the critics.
Apart from the Czech Republic, other countries also started to evacuate their diplomats and collaborators. The last workers and co-workers took the United States out of Kabul on Monday. Foreign media spokeswoman Neda Price reported.
As he left the embassy, the American flag was also hoisted on the spot, according to CNN television. U.S. troops fired into the air on Monday morning to drive thousands of Afghans trying to leave the country, AFP reported.
“We can confirm that the safe evacuation of all embassy staff is now complete. All the embassy staff is located on the grounds of Hamid Karzai International Airport, “said US diplomacy spokesman Price.
The evacuation of the US embassy began on Sunday morning as Kabul was under siege by the Taliban, which was taking control of all of Afghanistan. On Sunday, fighters of the Islamic radical movement occupied the capital, while helicopters transported embassy staff to the international airport.