Thousands of Diplomats, Civilians Have Been Evacuated From Kabul

Thousands of diplomats and civilians have been evacuated from Kabul on military flights, Reuters reported. The evacuations come in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the country. The White House said on Tuesday that the Taliban promised that civilians could make their way to the Kabul airport safely in order to be airlifted out of the country, AFP reported.

US military forces are running the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. They had to stop flights on Monday as Afghan civilians swarmed the tarmac in an attempt to leave the country. Flights resumed on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday morning.

The US military has evacuated more than 3,200 people from Afghanistan, including 1,100 on Tuesday, the AFP reported, citing a White House official. Britain has taken out about 1,000 people a day, Germany took 130 people out, France took out 25 of its nationals and 184 Afghans, and Australia brought home 26 people from Kabul, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, thousands of Afghans have entered Pakistan through the Spin Boldak/Chaman border crossing in the southeast of the country, including patients seeking medical attention and freed Afghan Taliban prisoners, Al Jazeera reported.