France has evacuated nearly 2,000 people, including French nationals and Afghan asylum seekers, from Afghanistan since the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul on August 15, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday.
France has been carrying out evacuations since August 16, flying people from Kabul to its military base in Abu Dhabi and then to Paris. As of Monday, the country has carried out seven such flights, and dispatched two more, according to the latest data from the French Foreign Ministry.
"Tomorrow (Tuesday), there will be 2,000 people evacuated in just over a week from Kabul, that's an achievement," Le Drian said, as cited by the French BFMTV broadcaster.
The diplomat is currently on a visit at the Abu Dhabi base, along with French Defense Minister Florence Parly.
Around 100 French citizens, over 40 nationals from partner countries, and over 1,000 Afghan asylum seekers have been evacuated from Afghanistan by the French forces so far, according to the ministry.
France has joined a large-scale initiative with other nations to evacuate their diplomatic missions and citizens from the Central Asian country, along with limited numbers of Afghans who seek to leave their homeland in fear of reprisals from the Taliban.
The Taliban declared the end of the two-decade war in Afghanistan on August 15, when the terror group entered Kabul, completing a weeks-long offensive across the country amid the departure of foreign troops. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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