Helicopter participating in Kabul airlift, about 2,000 people evacuated

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp Karenbauer announced on Saturday that the armed forces have evacuated about 2,000 people from the Afghan capital since the Taliban hijacking last week.

At the press conference, Crump Karenbauer said at the press conference, “The situation is difficult, but we will continue to take out as much as we can, using our abilities and everything that comes out on the ground.” ..

According to a statement from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the displaced people include an unspecified number of Germans, Afghans, and citizens of international partners.

In addition, Germany will deploy two helicopters overnight in Kabul, ready to begin evacuation from the city on Saturday. This effort will be coordinated with the United States, among other allies working 24 hours a day to keep Hamid Karzai International Airport safe.

In this image provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Marine Corps with Special Purpose Marine Corps Aerial Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command was held on August 20, 2021 at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Provide assistance during evacuation. (Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara / US Marine Corps via AP)

Helicopters are in Kabul for individuals who need to be picked up to be transferred to the airport for evacuation, but German officials said their plans for a particular deployment have not yet been confirmed.

General Eberhard Zorn, Germany’s Chief of Staff, said the Air Force would provide the baby food and hygiene products that were urgently needed at the airport.

Almost a week after the Taliban militants hijacked the country, Afghans desperate to flee the war-torn country continue to overwhelm Kabul’s airport.

Afghans will meet on the roadside near the military facility at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 20, 2021. (Wakirkosar via Getty Images / AFP)

Afghan people gather along the road on August 20, 2021 at a military airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, while waiting to board a U.S. military aircraft and leave the country. (Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images)

In other parts of Europe; Italy confirmed the successful evacuation of 207 Afghan citizens arriving in Rome from Kuwait on Saturday. In the last five days, Italian troops have said they have evacuated nearly 1,000 Afghan people.

The Dutch Ministry of Defense states that the first group of Afghans evacuated from Kabul on a Dutch military transport arrived in a barracks in the northern part of the Netherlands on Saturday and turned into temporary accommodation. Dutch authorities have managed five flights from Kabul so far, with nearly 300 passengers. It is not clear how many of them were Afghans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

from NTD News