Afghanistan crisis: Countrywise tally of people evacuated since Taliban takeover

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, ending a blitz of over two months. As the Afghan security forces capitulated and chaos ensued, foreign countries began evacuating their citizens and allies through massive airlifts operations. The special ops saw a brief hiatus on Thursday after twin blasts rocked Kabul’s Hamid Karzai Airport, killing 13 people and injuring dozens. As the conflict continues, here's a tally of evacuations by major global powers. 

US- Since August 14, the US military has evacuated over 88,000 people including 4,500 American citizens. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden reiterated that the US will complete its withdrawal by the set deadline of August 31. According to a report in Sky News, around 1,500 American citizens still remain in Afghanistan.

UK-  Britain which is also following the August 31st deadline for completing the evacuations, has airlifted 15,000 people from the war-ravaged land.

France- A total of 2,100 people have been repatriated by France which said that it will end its operations on the night of Friday, August 27. On Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex told RTL radio that airlifts will "continue until tomorrow evening".

Germany- Germany has evacuated a total of 5,100 including more than 3,600 Afghan residents. As of now, the NATO country has not announced a deadline for the completion of the withdrawal. On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament that evacuation efforts will continue "as long as possible"

Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium- The Netherlands has ended its evacuations on Thursday, 26 August 2021, while Denmark and Belgium ended it on Wednesday, 25 August 2021. While Netherland and Denmark have evacuated over 1000 people each, Belgium has rescued roughly 1,400 people. 

Canada- The Canadian administration concluded its evacuation process on Thursday. As many as 3,700 people were airlifted by the Justin Trudeau administration. 

Russia- Moscow, which said that it will not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan has pulled out over 360 Russian citizens as of now.

Turkey- As many as 1,400 people have been evacuated by Ankara with 1,000 out of them being Turkish citizens. 

New Zealand and Australia- Australia has evacuated over 4,000 people in massive airlift operations. It said that it was willing to extend the operations if the US did the same. Meanwhile, its pacific neighbour New Zealand has rescued 200 people. No deadline has been announced by Wellington. 

Twin explosions

In a major breaking from Afghanistan's capital city Kabul, a second explosion has been reported outside Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday. The blast took place near the Baron Hotel. It was confirmed by the Turkish Defense Ministry. "We don’t have any casualties in our ranks," it added. It has since been confirmed by the Pentagon as well.

The first explosion was a result of suicide bombing, and it was followed by gunfire, according to Republic Media Network's sources. Till now, at least 13 people have lost their lives while over dozen have been reported injured, including US troops, stationed outside the airport.

Image: AP