Afghan embassy workers on their way to NL; extra soldiers sent to Kabul

The 207 remaining Afghan embassy workers and their families were on their way to the Netherlands Sunday afternoon or are already here, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. Onboard were people without a Dutch passport for whom it had been difficult to leave Afghanistan.

When embassy workers with a Dutch passport were transported out of Afghanistan last week this group were left behind.

Hereby, nearly all of workers from the Dutch embassy have left Afghanistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Saturday. The evacuation plan was complicated due to the security situation in and around the Kabul airport.

The evacuees were brought to the Netherlands via multiple flights and with stops in safe countries.  

The Netherlands has sent extra soldiers to aid with the evacuations in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday afternoon. The reinforcements will help the 62 soldiers of the Dutch special forces already stationed in Kabul. The military is being deployed to protect the planes, evacuees and the consular emergency team in Kabul.

In addition, soldiers from the Marine Corps and the Airmobile Brigade are being prepared to go to Afghanistan. They can be flown in quickly if necessary.

Er zijn extra militairen onderweg naar Kabul. Zij gaan de 62 reeds aanwezige militairen versterken bij de lopende operatie om zoveel mogelijk mensen te evacueren. De militairen verzorgen de beveiliging van vliegtuigen, evacués en het consulair noodteam. https://t.co/Ljbr5vNblI pic.twitter.com/adXjnliH3r

— Ministerie van Defensie (@Defensie) August 22, 2021