The Latest: French evacuations to last ‘as long as possible’

By The Associated Press

PARIS — A French government spokesperson says France will continue its evacuation operation in Kabul “as long as possible” ahead of American Aug. 31 withdrawal date.

Gabriel Attal on Wednesday did not provide a date for the end of the French operation, saying only “we will likely need to anticipate a few hours, maybe a few days ahead” of the American forces’ departure from Kabul airport.

“We will continue as long as possible,” he said. “Due to extreme tension on the ground … and the scheduled departure of American forces, these evacuations are a true race against time.”

Attal declined to elaborate on how many people are still waiting for evacuation by France in Kabul.

A 10th flight carrying evacuees landed in Paris on Wednesday, with 21 French and 220 Afghan nationals, including 130 children onboard, according to the French Office of Immigration and Integration.

In total, at least 1,720 Afghans and a hundred French people have been evacuated by France since the beginning of the operation last week.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised France would evacuate Afghans who worked for the country as well as activists and others under threat.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— Taliban amid new report of abuses

— with Aug. 31 final pullout from Kabul

— , an afterthought not long ago

— amid Taliban’s Afghan blitz

— Taliban takeover prompts

— Find more AP coverage at

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria says it will grant asylum to some 70 Afghan citizens and their families.

The country’s caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev told reporters on Wednesday that the Afghan nationals have previously worked at the Bulgarian Embassy in Kabul or within the Bulgarian military missions in Afghanistan.

He did not elaborate about the timing and the route of the evacuation.

“Their evacuation from Afghanistan will be a challenge, but with the arrangements in place I hope that we will be successful,” Yanev said.

Bulgaria, a member of the European Union and NATO, has already announced that it is going to shelter Afghans who worked for the Balkan country.

But it is hesitant to invite larger groups of refugees, saying that all temporary accommodation centers are already overcrowded with migrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

Bulgaria was used as a transit route for hundreds of thousands of migrants on their way to western Europe during the height of the migrant crisis. Since then, Bulgaria erected a razor-wire fence along most of its 269-kilometer (167-mile) border with Turkey and has pledged to deploy hundreds of army troops to support border police.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Protesters have burned car tires outside a military base in the central Netherlands where Afghans are being housed after being evacuated from Kabul.

Police dog handlers broke up the demonstration Tuesday night outside the base in the village of Harskamp, 85 kilometers (52 miles) east of Amsterdam.

A police spokeswoman said Wednesday that officers did not arrest or hand on-the-spot fines to anybody at the demonstration Tuesday night.

Hundreds of Afghans have arrived in the Netherlands in recent days after being flown out of Kabul. They are being housed in three military bases.

The base in Harskamp can house 800 evacuees.

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BEIJING — China says it has established an “open and effective communication and consultation with the Afghan Taliban,” following a meeting between representatives of the group and Beijing’s ambassador to Kabul.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave no details about the Tuesday meeting between the deputy head of the Taliban’s political office, Abdul Salam Hanafi and Ambassador Wang Yu.

But he said China considered Kabul to be an “important platform and channel for both sides to discuss important matters of all kinds.”

China hosted a delegation led by senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar for talks last month, prior to the group’s lightning sweep to power in Kabul.

China has kept its embassy in the city open and says it has no plans for a wholesale evacuation of its citizens in Afghanistan, while relentlessly criticizing the U.S. over the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport.

“We have always respected Afghanistan’s sovereign independence and territorial integrity, pursued a policy of non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and adhered to a policy of friendship toward the entire Afghan people,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing Wednesday in Beijing.

“China respects the Afghan people’s independent decision on their own future and destiny, supports the implementation of the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned principle, and stands ready to continue to develop good-neighborly relations of friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan and play a constructive role in the peace and reconstruction of the country,” Wang said.

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VILNIUS, Lithuania — A plane carrying the first group of Afghan interpreters who had worked with Lithuanian forces in Afghanistan has touched down in the Baltic country.

The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that a total of 50 people were flown from Kabul via Warsaw, Poland.

They are the first of 115 interpreters who worked with Lithuanian forces in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2013, and Lithuania plans to bring all of them out of the country. The second group is expected to land in Vilnius later in the day.

Meanwhile in Norway, two planes from Afghanistan with a total of 278 passengers landed in Oslo, Norwegian news agency NTB reported.

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LONDON — Britain’s foreign minister says he can’t give a precise timeline about the end of U.K. evacuation flights from Afghanistan, but the mission will be over by Aug. 31.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said “it’s clear that the troops will be withdrawn by the end of the month.”

U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected pressure from Britain and other allies to extend the evacuation operation, saying it will end on Aug. 31. There are almost 6,000 American troops at the airport helping people flee the Taliban, along with smaller military contingents from other countries.

Raab said the British military will need time before the deadline to withdraw its people and equipment, but “we will make the maximum use of all the time we have left.”

He said British forces have airlifted 9,000 British citizens and at-risk Afghans from Kabul airport since the Taliban took the Afghan capital on Aug. 15.

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MOSCOW — Russia is preparing to evacuate more than 500 people on four military planes from Afghanistan — its first airlift operation since evacuations from Kabul began.

The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it will airlift the nationals of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine from Kabul.

Teams of medical workers will be present on each plane, the ministry said, should any of the evacuees require medical attention.

The evacuations will be carried out upon orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ministry noted.

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KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s government says 51 people evacuated from Afghanistan have arrived in the East African country at the request of the United States.

Authorities said in a statement that the group, transported to Uganda in a chartered flight, arrived early Wednesday. That statement said they included men, women and children. No more details were given on the identities of the evacuees.

Ugandan officials said last week the country will shelter up to 2,000 people fleeing the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. They said the Afghans would be brought to Uganda in small groups in a temporary arrangement before they are relocated elsewhere.

Uganda has long been a security ally of the U.S., especially on security matters in the region.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australia says it has helped evacuate 955 people in five flights from Kabul’s airport overnight as the danger in Afghanistan increased.

Defense Minister Peter Dutton on Wednesday thanked U.S., British and New Zealand defense forces for their help in evacuating 2,650 people including Afghan nationals from the airport since Wednesday last week.

Tuesday was Australia’s most successful day in evacuating people including Afghans who had worked for the Australian government.

“There is more work to be done but, of course, we know the security threats on the ground continue to increase,” Dutton told Parliament.

The government would take the advice of the Australian Defense Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell “as to how long it is possible for us to stay in country to keep our own people safe and help those that have helped us,” Dutton added.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to comment on reports that up to 1,200 Afghans with Australian visas had been turned away from the airport.

Dutton said Australia has resettled 8,500 Afghans who helped Australia in the past five years.

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SEOUL, South Korea __ Seoul says about 380 people evacuated from Afghanistan will arrive in South Korea aboard military planes on Thursday.

Choi Jongmoon, second vice foreign minister, told a briefing Wednesday that the Afghans are those who had worked for South Korea-run facilities in Afghanistan including its embassy or their family members.

Choi says the government has decided to bring them to South Korea in consideration of “an ethical responsibility for our (Afghan) colleagues” and a responsibility as a member of the international community.

He says the Afghans will be sent to a government-run temporary accommodation facility upon their arrival in South Korea on Thursday.