[ad_1]
Moscow (AP) — Uzbek officials said Afghan military aircraft were shot down by Uzbek’s air defense system on Sunday for attempts to trespass into Uzbek’s airspace.
Down occurred in southeastern Uzbekistan in the Surxondaryo region on the border with Afghanistan.
The plane crash was first reported by local media. The Uzbekistan Ministry of Defense initially said it was investigating videos and reports of the crash, and then confirmed that the plane crash had occurred without providing details. Only late Monday did officials reveal that the plane had gone down.
A provincial official told the Russian state’s RIA Novosti news agency that the country’s air defense system “avoided attempts by Afghan military aircraft to illegally cross the Uzbekistan border.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what kind of plane it was or how many people were on board.
The Defense Department initially said one Afghan soldier was injured after withdrawing from the plane. Later on Monday, RIA Novosti reported that two pilots from the plane survived the crash and were hospitalized in serious condition.
The day after the Taliban defeated the Western-backed government, thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul Airport, rushed into the apron, and desperately tried to escape the country, with reports of a plane crash. Appeared on Monday. The US military issued a warning shot as they struggled to manage the chaotic evacuation.
According to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a plane carrying more than 100 Afghan soldiers landed in Tajikistan on Monday. Officials told Russia’s state news agency Tas that Tajikistan had received the SOS signal and allowed it to land at an airport in Khatlon, which is adjacent to the Surxondaryo region of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
On Sunday, the Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that 84 Afghan soldiers crossed the border and sought help from Uzbekistan. The group was detained by border guards and contained three injured soldiers in need of medical assistance.
The man was provided with food and temporary accommodation in Uzbekistan, and the ministry contacted Afghan authorities regarding the return of Afghan soldiers to their home countries.
Caroline Table, communications director for Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, said the Republican Parliamentary Office is urgently working to help Afghan pilots fleeing the Taliban to Uzbekistan.
“We are working with an intermediary who is in contact with the pilots. They haven’t contacted us since last night (Washington). I know Uzbekistan brought a mobile phone. The main concern is to prevent Uzbekistan from handing them over to the Taliban. We are desperately contacting the State Department about this case and trying to exile them, but literally getting a response can not.”
___
Zeke Miller contributed this report from Washington.
[ad_2]