EU evacuates 260 more ‘local staff, dependents’ from Kabul

ISTANBUL

The European Union evacuated 260 more of their "local staff and dependents” from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.

“Grateful to EU team and partners in Kabul for outstanding work in bringing people to safety. 260 more of our local staff and dependents arrived or are on their way to Europe,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.

“Work bringing people to safety will continue,” he added, sharing a photo of evacuation.

On Aug. 19, Borrell – a former Spanish politician – told the MEPs that 150 Afghans, former employees of the EU Delegation in Afghanistan and their families, had landed in Spain early this morning.

However, there remain some 300 people from the same group who are still trying to make their way to Kabul airport to board an EU flight. Borrell said he sent a special envoy and three other EU officials to Afghanistan to help their evacuation.

He said the bloc has “a moral duty to save them” since they “loyally promoted and defended EU values over the past years.”

Taliban insurgents seized control of Afghanistan after taking Kabul on Aug. 15, with the president and other top officials leaving the country.

The unexpected power grab has triggered a rush to flee Afghanistan, including civilians who assisted foreign soldiers or groups and now fear Taliban retribution.