Another Dutch plane heading to Kabul

Another Dutch plane is on its way to Afghanistan. That was reported by caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag in the lower house of Dutch parliament. The aircraft departed from Eindhoven on Tuesday afternoon and will make a stopover in the region.

The plane will drop off a new embassy team plus 62 military personnel for security. They will continue to work from Afghanistan. The intention is that the device will then evacuate people from the country.

On Monday, a Dutch plane was also en route to Afghanistan, but it was not allowed to land at the airport in Kabul at the last minute. The situation there was too unsafe and extra security was given priority. Ultimately, the Netherlands wants to carry out several flights, the Minister said earlier.

Kaag did not say when exactly the aircraft will be able to land. The Netherlands is "extremely dependent on our American friends and allies" for flights to Afghanistan. "Without their security information, without their air cover, without their airport protection, nothing is possible." According to Kaag, the US is also keeping pressure on the Taliban to prevent the evacuation operations from being attacked.

Kaag spoke of a "dramatic end" to the past twenty years of foreign interference in Afghanistan. She said she looks at it "with enormous sadness."