Afghanistan: UK to send hundreds more soldiers to speed up evacuation

Additional troops will bring total number of UK armed forces personnel helping in evacuation efforts to around 900

The UK will be sending a further 200 troops to Kabul to speed up efforts to evacuate British citizens and local allies from Afghanistan, after the Taliban swept across the country, securing near-total control.

The ministry of defence told the PA news agency that the additional armed services personnel would be sent to Afghanistan following the western-backed government’s demise and the Taliban’s swift takeover of Kabul.

These additional forces will bring the total number of troops sent to the Afghan capital to around 900.

On Monday, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said that the government had been surprised by the “scale and pace” of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

He also raised the prospect of sanctions and withholding aid if the Taliban breach human rights and allow the country to become a “base for terror”.

“Everyone has been surprised by the scale and pace of which the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, and that’s a lesson we’ve all got to learn from,” he said.

He added that a further 50 British nationals are expected to arrive back in the UK in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Already, 370 people – UK citizens and Afghans with visas – have been evacuated to the UK.

According to the prime minister’s spokesperson, “significant numbers” of people are set to be evacuated from Afghanistan in the coming days.

A No 10 spokesperson said that capabilities in Afghanistan had been reinforced with military personnel to facilitate the removal of British nationals and those with UK visas.

They said: “Hundreds everyday will be leaving on flights, but it is a fluid situation. We want to obviously continue to do this as long as we are able to do so and as long as this is safe to do so.”

They noted that Sir Laurie Bristow, the UK’s ambassador to Kabul, remains in Afghanistan and is helping to process visas at the airport alongside diplomatic staff and Home Office officials.

The spokesperson added: “There are people on the ground who can consider visa applications and there are some rules as regards to those who have family members who can be considered, I think, on a case-by-case basis but we have already removed a large number of Afghan nationals under the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) scheme and we’ll continue to do so.”

Despite the military assistance in processing and repatriating British citizens and evacuating selected Afghan nationals, the government has not said how many Afghan refugees the UK might take in. However, a “new and bespoke” resettlement scheme for most in-need Afghans is set to be announced in the coming days, Downing Street has said.

A No 10 spokesperson said: “The UK team in Afghanistan is working around the clock in incredibly difficult circumstances to help British nationals and as many others as we can get to safety as soon as possible.

“At the same time, we are bringing together the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis emerging in Afghanistan - it’s in everyone’s interest not to let Afghanistan fail.

“That means providing whatever support we can to the Afghan people who have worked so hard to make the country a better place over the last twenty years and who are now in need of our help.”