Stockholm has announced that its evacuation mission from Afghanistan has drawn to a close in the wake of Thursday’s fatal attacks at Kabul airport, but could not rescue everyone it intended to on its ‘Sweden list’.
On Friday, Sweden’s foreign minister, Ann Linde, told a news conference that Stockholm’s repatriation missions from Kabul had concluded. “All in all some 1,100 people have been evacuated by the Foreign Ministry,” she said. “All locally employed embassy staff and their families have been evacuated.”
Among those on rescue flights to Sweden were embassy workers and local guards, as well as their families, members of the armed forces, and 500 Swedes. Stockholm also managed to evacuate women’s rights activists, journalists, and people working for the EU.
Linde, however, expressed regret that the Nordic nation was not able to rescue everyone on its ‘Sweden list’ who wanted to leave Afghanistan. “The incredibly difficult and risky conditions meant we were not able to evacuate more Swedes and local employees,” she noted.
The minister, however, said that the government’s efforts would not end there, and hopes that at a later stage, Stockholm will be able to assist the remaining Swedish citizens and allies left in turbulent Afghanistan.
Several other European countries have wrapped up their evacuation operations before the August 31 deadline for the full withdrawal of foreign forces. The last Italian plane left Kabul airport on Friday carrying Rome’s diplomats, military officials, and Afghan civilians. The Swiss government confirmed later in the day that it too had completed its evacuations, while the British mission is reportedly in its final hours.
Kabul airport was rocked by a double-blast attack on Thursday that left scores of people dead, including 13 US soldiers. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) later claimed responsibility for the deadly assault.
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