Canada has evacuated nearly 1,000 Afghans from their country, senior Canadian government officials said on Saturday, pointing to the dangerous situation around Kabul airport.
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“
To date, we have evacuated nearly 1,000 Afghan nationals who risked reprisals for their work with Canada and allied countries
,” they said during a telephone press briefing.
Not all evacuees are destined to be received in Canada. Nearly 800 Afghans have arrived in Canada under a new special immigration program, they said. Canadian authorities have received around 6,000 requests, nearly half of which have been processed and approved.
Canada recently pledged to welcome 20,000 Afghan refugees under this program.
"
The conditions on the ground are precarious, chaotic and desperate
", underlined these senior Canadian officials, evoking a "
dangerous mission
".
“
It's chaotic and desperate both inside and outside the airport right now,
” they said.
“
Just getting to the airport is extremely dangerous,
” they admitted.
Read also Afghanistan: in Kabul, evacuations continue in chaos
Canada resumed flights to Kabul on Thursday by sending two military planes, for the first time since the capture of Kabul by the Taliban.
On Saturday, the US Embassy in Afghanistan urged US nationals to avoid travel to Kabul airport because of "
potential security threats
."
The gigantic evacuation operation in the Afghan capital represents "
one of the most difficult in history
", according to US President Joe Biden.
The United States has announced that it has evacuated around 17,000 people since August 14.