Brits may be left in Kabul after ‘appalling evacuation’ amid Afghanistan’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’, says ex-Marine
AN EX-MARINE has warned Brits could be left behind in Kabul after the government’s “appalling” evacuation mission as Afghans face the “worst humanitarian crisis” ever.
Veteran Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing said it is “unacceptable” that some ministers were on holiday as the disaster unfolded in Afghanistan – and warned a British soldier could die in the evacuation rush.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has come under fire for not ringing his counterpart in Kabul while enjoying a family beach break in sun-kissed Crete last Friday.
“Everybody in government who has a responsibility should have been on a plane from their holidays going home. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” Farthing told Good Morning Britain today.
He said it is a “very likely possibility” a British soldier could die in the carnage outside Kabul airport as “thousands of desperate Afghans” try to flee the country.
We’ve been in this situation for five days now – I have no idea what the West is playing at. I’m absolutely shocked and appalled.
Pen Farthing
“I couldn’t get in there if I wanted to try,” Farthing said.
“If somebody does offer me and my team passage to England, I have got to figure out how I get 71 Afghans, including young children and families, through that to get into the airport.
“This is a humanitarian disaster like nothing we have ever seen before.
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“We’ve been in this situation for five days now – I have no idea what the West is playing at. I’m absolutely shocked and appalled.
“We’re not going to get a second chance. When the last plane leaves here, no one is coming back to Afghanistan. That’s it. Whoever gets left behind, gets left behind.”
Read our Afghanistan live blog for the latest updates
Farthing has been battling to get all of his 25 staff from animal welfare charity Nowzad and their families out of the country as the ruthless Taliban take over the war-torn country.
On Thursday night, Farthing and his wife, Kaisa, made it onto an evacuation flight out of the country after she and other Brits were “crushed in the stampede” in their frantic attempt to flee on Tuesday.
But the ex-Marine shared the news alongside a shocking image apparently from inside the plane which showed many empty seats.
‘SCANDALOUS’
Farthing called the image “scandalous”, adding “thousands wait outside #Kabul airport being crushed as they cannot get in Sadly people will be left behind when this mission is over as we CANNOT get it right”.
He told Sky News he and his wife decided to head to Kabul airport at night in order to avoid the crowds of people that descend upon the airport every day in a desperate bid to escape.
Farthing, who has vowed not to leave the country until his staff and their families are safe, said flights were taking off “regardless of whether they’re full or not”.
“We are going to leave people behind, that is an absolute given,” he said.
It is the latest in the chilling scenes from the days of chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans desperately try to escape and the West attempt to evacuate their citizens.
It is quite obvious that the Taliban now are the prevalent security providers across Afghanistan, that’s a fact.
Royal Navy Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key
The Taliban now control all access points to the airport amid chaotic evacuation efforts and streams of people have been pictured queuing for hours to get documents and board flights.
On Thursday, the militants opened fire towards a panicking crowd including mums and dads clutching their crying children as thousands continue to surround the airport.
Shocking videos appear to show gunmen firing first into the air and then towards a crowd of people as the desperate efforts to escape the new terror regime continue.
One video appears to show a crowd people gathered around men in camouflage fatigues – understood to the Taliban’s elite Badri 313 special forces unit – before the shooting begins.
Gunshots then ring out as the armed men attempt to disperse the crowd as the screaming families run for their lives.
DESPERATE BID TO ESCAPE
And one woman can be seen clutching her crying daughter as the men point their guns at the crowds in background.
Another video shows hundreds of people cowering in a trench near the distinctive walls of the airport as gunfire rings out again and again.
Other footage showed babies and children being handed to soldiers manning security checkpoints at the airport in a desperate bid to get them out of Kabul.
Many parents fear for their children’s futures should they have to live under the boot of the new Taliban regime.
And while thousands flee, the insurgents are currently going door-to-door to threaten relatives of civil servants, interpreters and other consular staff.
A UN dossier leaked to The New York Times said the thugs are “arresting and/or threatening to kill or arrest family members of target individuals unless they surrender themselves to the Taliban”.
TALIBAN CONTROL
Troops are still scrambling to airlift tens of thousands of Afghan allies from Kabul – but military chiefs have admitted they can only stay on the ground as long as the Taliban allows.
Up to 600 members of Afghan security forces are helping provide security even as the country’s military and government has collapsed, the Pentagon said.
Royal Navy Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key, who is leading the evacuation operation, said it was up to individuals called forward to make their own way to the airport, and “much of that journey is for them to undertake”.
Sir Ben told Sky News: “It is quite obvious that the Taliban now are the prevalent security providers across Afghanistan, that’s a fact.
“So therefore it is up to them and these individuals, as we call them forward, to make their own way to the vicinity of the airport.
“We then bring them into the airport and process them.”
