Women’s rights activists and judges are among thousands of Afghans identified by British officials as being at serious risk from the Taliban but in danger of being left behind when the evacuation ends within days.
Britain had hoped to airlift up to 1,800 British nationals, 2,000 Afghans who worked for the UK, and a list of civil society leaders and former government officials compiled at the last minute.
But aid agencies fear time is running out after the G7 meeting of world leaders broke up with the US rejecting any extension to the 31 August deadline for its troops to hold Kabul airport.
At the same time, it has become more dangerous for Afghans to get to the airport. On Tuesday the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan nationals should no longer travel there because of the large crowds gathering outside. We are “not in favour” of allowing Afghans to leave, he added.
Elizabeth Winter, the executive director of the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, which supports NGOs working in the country, said: “There is a real possibility now that countless numbers of human rights defenders and civil society activists will remain in fear in Kabul.
“They have been identified by the UK as eligible for evacuation and we have a moral obligation to those whose public profile has come about partly because of their participation in events and programmes which were fulfilling the objectives of the UK and other donors.”
The extra list of special asylum cases, including people whose lives are considered to be in danger, has been compiled by the UK Foreign Office since the fall of Kabul with the help of politicians, aid agencies and others who know the country.
It was referred to by Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, in a briefing for opposition MPs on Tuesday, where he said women’s rights activists and judges would have top priority for emergency resettlement. Other priority groups include LGBTQ+ advocates and prosecutors, all considered targets for the Taliban, he said.
Critics say the evacuation lists should have been put together sooner. Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “The government has had 18 months to plan for this moment. They should have used that time to develop an effective evacuation strategy, and work with our international partners to coordinate an orderly and structured withdrawal.”
Others who are theoretically eligible include former Afghan government officials, those working in counter-terrorism or counter-narcotics, and journalists – though there are no figures available on how many people in this category have been evacuated so far.
Nine flights were due into Kabul on Tuesday, Raab told MPs, and 7,109 people had been airlifted out as of Monday night, including 4,226 Afghans – mostly translators and others who have worked in the British embassy and for the UK.
Charities operating in the country believe it will take the US, which is leading the military operation to hold Kabul airport, at least two to three days to pack up safely in the run-up to 31 August. That would imply the last evacuation flights will leave several days before the end of the month, they said.
The RAF has been evacuating between 1,000 and 1,500 a day, meaning only a few thousand can be airlifted out by the UK, with days to go. But even those who are called forward face serious difficulties to get on a rescue flight.
Those working to help Afghan resettlement cases say it is increasingly difficult to get to the airport area amid growing reports of Taliban reprisals at checkpoints. The chaos and overcrowding around the Baron hotel, where British officials are processing resettlement claims, is said to have worsened.
Some Afghan guards who were employed as contractors by the security firm GardaWorld to protect the British embassy have been told to proceed to the Baron hotel, but several believe the large crowds have made it too dangerous to go.
They were trying to persuade GardaWorld to organise buses and a safe passage convoy for them to travel from central Kabul, as the company did for its expatriate staff last week.
“I’m hopeful that all our staff will receive a relocation email from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office today and tomorrow … We’re packed and ready, but we can’t go to the airport because of the crowds. It’s very hard for anyone with a family and young kids to wait in that crowd. People are too afraid – we need help,” the guards’ supervisor said.
There are reports some Afghans have waited up to four days outside the hotel to be called for a rescue flight. Aid agencies believe there has been a push to evacuate the last single-nationality Britons before focusing on evacuating Afghans eligible for resettlement or asylum.
Julian Perreira, a former British soldier helping Afghan interpreters leave the country, said: “The situation is deteriorating very fast, interpreters are being beaten and having documents stolen. Some have been separated from their children. People are really struggling to get to the hotel.” Perreira, who served three tours in Afghanistan, estimates that of the 35 cases he has been tracking since the start of the crisis, “50% have come to the UK so far” with their families.
