Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Taliban and revealed that they were not allowing charter flights to evacuate US citizens and at-risk Afghans to depart the airport.
The Taliban allowed a flight of foreigners, including American citizens, to finally depart Afghanistan on Thursday after the top US diplomat lashed out at the group for blocking charter flights from taking off.
Qatar, which has emerged as a leading political interlocutor in Afghanistan, said the first commercial flight left Kabul since the chaotic US withdrawal ended its longest war last month.
Qatar’s foreign minister said, “we managed to fly the first plane with passengers just an hour ago.” Videos surfaced of the flight landing in Doha at around 5 PM GMT.
BREAKING: Flight carrying Americans and others from Kabul has landed safely in Doha. pic.twitter.com/CYRIwPsMOz
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) September 9, 2021
The United Kingdom said 13 British nationals were on the flight. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab thanked Qatar for its efforts.
My thanks to @TamimBinHamad and our Qatari partners for making today’s evacuation flight from Kabul happen. It brought British Nationals and others safely to Doha. We are committed to working together to keep this vital route open. https://t.co/rwB1jzR3Ze
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) September 9, 2021
Alongside Doha, Turkey has also been reported to be working with the Taliban to get the airport back up and running.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Taliban and revealed that they were not allowing charter flights to evacuate US citizens and at-risk Afghans to depart the airport.
“There’s been a fair amount of confusion surrounding the flights, and let me just clarify a few things. As of now, the Taliban are not permitting charter flights to depart. They claim that some of the passengers do not have the required documentation,” Blinken said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart.
An AFP correspondent reported that there were around 200 passengers on the flight that left Thursday.
