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Updated October 23rd, 2021 at 21:15 IST

Royal Air Force airlifts over 100 Afghans from neighbouring third country

The Royal Air Force (RAF) airlifted more than 100 people, who had left Afghanistan and were in the neighbouring third country, to the United Kingdom. Read on.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
UK
IMAGE: GOV.UK/WEBSITE | Image:self
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The British Ministry of Defence on Saturday, October 23, informed that the Royal Air Force (RAF) airlifted over 100 people, who had left Afghanistan and were in the neighbouring third country, to the United Kingdom. According to a press release, the UK Ministry of Defence said that the two flights had landed in the UK carrying 102 people who would receive support to begin their lives in Britain under Operation Warm Welcome. 

“While repatriation flights and individual relocations have been taking place since the end of August, these flights are the first military relocation of eligible Afghans and British nationals since the end of the evacuation from Kabul, known as Operation PITTING,” the press note read. 

The defence ministry said that among those airlifted were vulnerable Afghans who come under the UK government’s relocation and assistance policy, a scheme for former locally employed staff and British nationals. Now, more flights are also scheduled to arrive in the UK in the coming weeks. 

UK defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “These flights mark the beginning of what will be an enduring effort to relocate and support those who need our help.”

Wallace noted that “in August we worked tirelessly to airlift more than 15,000 vulnerable Afghans and British Nationals from Kabul to the UK.” He added, “As I made clear at the time, our commitment to the Afghan people did not end there. We are determined to do right by those who supported our Armed Forces for so many years and others who are at risk.”

The defence ministry said that the UK is working with the international partners to make sure that as many routes as possible were available for those eligible and that the flights signify the “start of the next chapter of that effort”. The press release read that the UK Home Office would “process and support” the newly arrived Afghans, who would be granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom with funding allocated for schooling and healthcare. Separately, according to The Guardian, Britain’s Foreign Officer has also helped almost 100 British nationals to leave the war-ravaged nation on Qatari flights since the UK’s last evacuation in August. 

Taliban forcibly evicts Hazara Shia community

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the latest news of evacuation comes as a recent Human Rights Watch report stated that the Taliban officials had forced thousands of people from their homes and land, breaking international law under which collective punishment is illegal. The HRW accused the Taliban and associated militias of forcibly evicting hundreds of Hazara families from the southern Helmand province and the northern Balkh province in October. They followed earlier evictions from Daikundi, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces. 

After taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has told many Hazaras and other residents in five provinces to leave their homes and land. In addition, the Taliban has targeted people associated with the former government. As per the Human Rights Watch report, some of the people were given a few days' notices and they were unable to make legal claims on the land. 

(Image: Gov.UK/Website)


 

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Published October 23rd, 2021 at 21:15 IST

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