Enlarge image
Helicopter Airbus H145M of the Special Forces Command (KSK), archive picture
Photo: Björn Trotsky / imago images
Helicopter use of the German armed forces in Kabul is to begin
8:22 a.m.:
In the Afghan capital Kabul, two helicopters of the Bundeswehr are to be ready from today to bring Germans, EU foreigners and local staff safely to the airport.
According to the Bundeswehr, the two Airbus H145M helicopters arrived in Kabul on Saturday night.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the helicopters can be used to rescue individual German citizens or local staff from dangerous situations - and only in the capital.
There is no way to fly to Mazar-i-Sharif via the Hindu Kush.
So far, the Bundeswehr has only been deployed within Kabul Airport, which is secured by US troops.
So far around 12,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan
8.11 a.m.:
Since the Taliban
marched
into Kabul just under a week
ago,
around 12,000 foreign citizens and Afghans who worked for embassies and international aid groups have been brought out of the country, according to NATO.
“The evacuation process is slow because it is risky.
Because we do not want any clashes with Taliban members or civilians outside the airport, ”says a NATO representative, who does not want to be named.
On Saturday night, two Bundeswehr A400M transport planes with a total of 179 refugees from Kabul landed in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent.
According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, the Bundeswehr has flown more than 1,700 people at risk from Kabul so far.
Biden thanks Qatar's rulers for help with airlift
8:00 am:
US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for his "generous support" in the evacuation of thousands of people from Afghanistan.
Biden told the Qatari ruler in a phone call that the airlift "would not have been possible without the early support from Qatar," said the White House on Friday (local time).
Numerous US planes have flown people from Kabul to Qatar in the past few days.
The emirate has come under fire for its support for the Taliban.
Qatar has hosted high-ranking Taliban politicians for years - and this week a delegation from the Taliban leadership flew to Afghanistan on a Qatari Air Force plane.
The emirate describes itself as a mediator in the conflict.
clh / Reuters / dpa