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Developments in Afghanistan

Military plane transports 42 people, including Russian citizen, to Almaty from Afghanistan

At the moment, Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy staff

NUR-SULTAN, August 18. /TASS/. A military transport plane from Kazakhstan has brought 42 passengers, including a Russian national, from Afghanistan to Almaty, the Kazakh Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

"Today at 17:00 (14:00 Moscow time), a C-295 military transport aircraft of the Kazakh Air Force carrying 42 passengers evacuated from Afghanistan landed safely in Almaty. Twenty-five Kazakhstani citizens, including 15 adults and ten children, along with embassy employees, arrived in Kazakhstan," the report said.

The ministry noted that 14 Kyrgyz citizens had been evacuated by the plane at Kyrgyzstan’s request. "As a humanitarian operation, this plane also evacuated one Russian citizen and one Lithuanian citizen who got in touch with Kazakhstan’s Embassy asking for assistance," it added.

After the US announced the end of its operation in Afghanistan and the beginning of its troop withdrawal, the Taliban radical militant group (outlawed in Russia) launched an offensive against government forces. On August 15, Taliban fighters entered Kabul without encountering any resistance, establishing full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. At present, Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy staff.

Tags

Power transfer in Afghanistan

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