Romania on Fridat airlifted four more people from Kabul in the race to leave Afghanistan by the end of the month as the Taliban close in.
Kabul airport
There were chaotic scenes at Kabul airport where Western nations are evacuating their citizens and Afghans who worked with them
The second military flight evacuated a Romanian, a Bulgarian, a British and American from the besieged capital. A single person was airlifted the previous day.
The plane flew to Islamabad in neighboring Pakistan. It will stay there until there are other people that need to be evacuated from the war-torn country.
NATO agency
“This second flight evacuated a Romanian national employed by a NATO agency who was already at the international airport… and three other citizens of allied states,” a statement said.
The foreign ministry said that security issues had prevented other Romanians stuck in Kabul reaching the airport.
Taliban checkpoints ring the perimeter of the airport and chaotic scenes have been unfolding outside, the BBC reported.
Evacuation flights
About 4,500 U.S. troops are in temporary control of Karzai International Airport. There are also about 900 British soldiers on patrol at the site as part of efforts to secure the evacuation flights.
Later Friday, the foreign ministry announced that 14 more Romanian nationals had arrived at the airport. They will be evacuated on the next military flight.
The group are employees of a security company operating in Afghanistan, the ministry said.
Military base
They were stationed at a military base outside the airport until Friday morning. The transfer was carried out in “extremely complex and difficult” conditions.
Romanian authorities said they were supported by their international partners in carrying out the transfer.
Some 7,000 American and other evacuees, including Afghan allies, have been airlifted out of the airport since Sunday.
Taliban
The Taliban are blocking Afghans without travel documents from entering. Twelve people have been killed in and around Kabul airport since Sunday, according to a Taliban official quoted by Reuters.
