Belgium completes evacuation leaving over 100 stranded in Afghanistan
The last plane to transport Belgian and foreign nationals from Afghanistan as part of Operation Red Kite has landed, officially bringing the Belgian evacuation to an end. However, the mission cannot be labelled a complete success, as more than a hundred people failed to get to Kabul airport and were left stranded in Afghanistan.
The last plane evacuating people from Kabul as part of Operation Red Kite landed at Melsbroek Military Airport in Belgium at 6.40 am local time on Friday, 27 August.
Un vol charter d’Air Belgium, a atterri vers 06h40 á l’aéroport militaire de Melsbroek pic.twitter.com/quo9p8OxEs
— Belgian Defence (@BelgiumDefence) August 27, 2021
37 passengers were on board the Air Belgium-operated charter plane, which was the last flight to evacuate people from Kabul. The plane transported six Belgian, three Hungarian and 15 Bulgarian citizens, the others were military personnel and diplomats. The passengers were transported to the Peutie military barracks, where they were subjected to security and medical checks as well as a Covid test.
De charter van Air Belgium, is omstreeks 06u40 geland op de militaire luchthaven van Melsbroek pic.twitter.com/Q8XTZZCAEw
— Belgian Defence (@BelgiumDefence) August 27, 2021
At a press conference of the Belgian government on 26 August, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes reported that 1,400 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan in Operation Red Kite, with twenty-three C-130 aircraft launched in six days, but that security personnel remained in Afghanistan for the time being.
LIVE. Toelichting bij Operatie Red Kite (Afghanistan) – Le point sur l’opération Red Kite (Afghanistan) https://t.co/sZLWhjUml3
— Alexander De Croo (@alexanderdecroo) August 26, 2021
The Belgian cabinet decided to end the rescue operation because of the terrorist attacks in Kabul and the growing threat, but they did not manage to evacuate everyone. According to RTL.be, 114 people are still in Kabul who did not manage to get to the airport and are still stranded in Afghanistan. State Secretary for Migration Sammy Mahdi is asking those awaiting evacuation to stay in a safe place until they can be evacuated.