Advertisement

Updated August 15th, 2021 at 21:05 IST

Afghanistan soldiers who fled fearing Taliban receive warm welcome from Uzbekistan

The Afghanistan soldiers who crossed the Afghan-Uzbek border and asked Tashkent for help were detained and temporarily accepted by Uzbekistan.

Reported by: Ajeet Kumar
Uzbekistan
Image Credit: AP | Image:self
Advertisement

As Afghanistan is reeling under the brutal siege of the Taliban, at least 84 Afghan soldiers crossed the Afghan-Uzbek border and asked Tashkent for help. The latest development came after the Taliban announced they captured the national capital on Sunday. Following the announcement, civilians are now fearing that the extremist group could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that they had witnessed twenty years ago.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the soldiers who crossed the Afghan-Uzbek border and asked Tashkent for help were detained and temporarily accepted by Uzbekistan. The report also said that Tashkent provided medical assistance to three of them who were brutally injured.

Afghan citizens near Uzbek now returning to their territory

Earlier on August 14, the troops were detained by units of the border forces of the Uzbek State Security Service. Meanwhile, the Uzbek government is in contact with the Afghan government to ensure the safe return of the Afghan soldiers. The Uzbekistan foreign ministry added that the overnight amassing of Afghan government servicemen on the Termez-Hayraton bridge on the border over the Amudarya river was now defused. 

The bulk of the Afghan citizens who had accumulated on their part of the bridge had left the bridge and the adjacent territory on their own. Further, the ministry informed that the Uzbek Embassy in Kabul and the country's consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif continue to operate, and their staff has not been evacuated.

Kabul international airport: A ray of hope for civilians

In the latest development, Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signalling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan. The same was confirmed by Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council through a video message. Now, for the civilians, the only way left to flee from the country is Kabul’s international airport.

A steady stream of people makes its way first to ticket sale counters set up on the parking lot outside the terminal. They push their luggage, load carts with carpets, television sets and mementoes, stuff clothes inside purses to make their weight limit as they slowly inch forward. The lucky ones, those who managed to get a ticket for a flight out to anywhere, then wait more than three hours to make it inside the terminal, bidding tearful goodbyes to loved ones they are leaving behind.

(With inputs from AP)

(Image Credit: AP)

Advertisement

Published August 15th, 2021 at 21:05 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Chandrakant Pandit and Gautam Gambhir
2 minutes ago
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
4 minutes ago
UFC Exclusive Erin Blanchfield
8 minutes ago
Shahjahan Sheikh in CBI Custody: First Visual Emerges | WATCH
10 minutes ago
Congress Kangana Ranaut
14 minutes ago
Bengaluru Traffic Restrictions For Feb 25 Owing to Constitution Awareness Campaign: Check Routes
18 minutes ago
Mandi Lok Sabha seat Pratibha Singh
18 minutes ago
Crew
19 minutes ago
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced the formation of a new PA cabinet.
20 minutes ago
नाबालिग से गैंगरेप
21 minutes ago
rupees-dearness-allowance
22 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo