(ANSA) – ROME, DECEMBER 07 – The management of the Afghan evacuation by the British Foreign Ministry after the Taliban seized power in Kabul was “dysfunctional” and “chaotic”. This is what a former senior official of the Foreign, Commonwealth-Development Office (FCDO) says, reports the BBC.
According to whistleblower Raphael Marshall, the process of choosing who could take a flight to escape Kabul was “arbitrary” and thousands of e-mails with requests for help went unread. The then foreign minister, Dominic Raab, was slow to make decisions, he added.
A government spokesperson said the staff had “worked tirelessly” on the “largest mission of its kind in generations.” And a source close to Raab argues that identity verification and ensuring safe evacuation were the main challenges at the time. The UK evacuated 15,000 people from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the capital. Among them: 5,000 were British citizens, 8,000 Afghans and 2,000 children.
In a statement sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Marshall said up to 150,000 Afghans who were at risk due to their links with Britain asked to be evacuated, but fewer than 5% received assistance.
“It is clear that some of those left behind were assassinated by the Taliban,” he added. According to Marshall, Raab took hours to respond to emails and “didn’t fully understand the situation.” (HANDLE).
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Source From: Ansa
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