Afghanistan: Paris organizes the evacuation of the French before a Defense Council Monday

Published on : 08/16/2021 – 08:07

For the Élysée, this is the “top priority”. Paris announced on Sunday August 15 the deployment of military reinforcements to the United Arab Emirates in order to facilitate the evacuation of its nationals from Afghanistan. Hours earlier, the Taliban officially entered the capital Kabul.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is monitoring “the situation hour by hour”, will speak Monday at 8 p.m. (Paris time, 6 p.m. GMT), the Elysee said. The Head of State must first chair a Defense Council by videoconference at 12 noon.

The French armies launched the operation to evacuate French nationals on Sunday evening: two air force transport planes, a C130 and an A400M, with freight and personnel on board, were to take off in the night and Monday morning for Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates, said the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

“The device comprising elements of protection, air transit, reception, medical support and command and coordination will perform water waves between Abu Dhabi and Kabul airport.”

The first rotation was scheduled for Monday August 16. The nationals will then be “transported to the metropolis by other army planes”, said the military authorities.

The Quai d’Orsay had decided on Sunday afternoon to “relocate the embassy to the Kabul airport site (…) in order to proceed in particular with the evacuation of all of our compatriots who would still be in the country”.

>> Live: US military says it ‘secured’ Kabul airport

The French authorities claim to be “in contact with the French who have come forward” and recall that these “methodical evacuation operations of our nationals have been underway for weeks”.

The French present in Afghanistan had been invited in April to leave the country and a special flight had been chartered by the French authorities on July 16.

The Élysée for its part underlined that the “immediate and absolute priority in the coming hours (was) the security of the French as well as the personnel on the spot, French and Afghan”.

At least 600 Afghans employed by Paris welcomed by the embassy

Paris argues that France is “one of the few countries” to have maintained on the ground “the capacity to protect Afghans who worked for the French army, as well as journalists, human rights activists , Afghan artists and personalities particularly threatened “and reiterated its will to” continue to put under protection the personalities of the Afghan civil society threatened for their engagement “.

“Everything is currently being implemented to maintain, as much as possible, a visa issuance capacity from Kabul airport,” assured the Quai d’Orsay.

According to the French authorities, 625 Afghans employed in French structures present in Afghanistan and their families have been received since May.

France, which has had recourse in recent years to locally recruited civilians to help its staff on the ground, in particular interpreters, had already organized the reception of 550 people with their families between 2013 and 2015 and 800 in 2018 and 2019 , specifies the Élysée.

Like other European countries, France has since July suspended the expulsions of Afghan migrants who have refused their asylum applications.

President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday, effectively handing over power to the Taliban who reached Kabul, symbol of their total military victory, in an offensive of just 10 days.

Radical Islamist movement set to return to power, 20 years after being ousted by a US-led coalition over its refusal to hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in its wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

France was present militarily in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014 and counted up to nearly 4,000 soldiers in this country at the height of NATO’s engagement, accusing 89 dead and 700 wounded.

With AFP