A Scots-based charity has told how humanitarian staff carrying out life-saving landmine clearance work in Afghanistan have fled after Taliban forces reclaimed the country,
The Halo Trust – whose headquarters are based in Dumfries – was working to make the country’s minefields safe from the aftermath of the conflict with the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan.
Their vital work had ensured almost 80 per cent of the recorded minefields and battlefields were made safe.
Taliban forces have now seized control of the capital city of Kabul.
All commercial flights out of Kabul airport were suspended last night as military aircraft carried out the evacuation in an operation compared to the Fall of Saigon in Vietnam in 1975.
In a statement on the safety of staff, The Halo Trust said staff have left the country safely but their priority now lies with supporting Afghan colleagues.
They said: “We would like to thank everyone who has enquired about the safety of all of our staff in Afghanistan.
“We can confirm that all of our internationals have now left the country safely. We are currently focused on the safety of our Afghan colleagues.
“We hope that they will quickly be able to return to work, saving lives, as they have in Afghanistan since 1988.”
We told earlier this year how The Halo Trust had expressed their shock after gunmen in Afghanistan killed at least 10 humanitarian workers clearing landmines and injured 16 others at a demining camp.
The Halo Trust workers were murdered in the attack in the Baghlan Province of Afghanistan on June 8 around 9.50pm local time.
The organisation has worked on the Afghan-led project over the past 30-years.
In West Kabul they spearheaded one of the biggest urban clearance operations since World War II allowing for the city to rebuild.
In Herat Province they have cleared over 600 minefields, including land around the 15th Century Minarets of the Husain Baiqara Madrasa.
They have also made land safe for farmers to grow crops in rural districts.
