Dutch have brought 573 people out of Kabul since evacuations ended: AD

Destroyed tanks, abandoned in a field in Afghanistan. Photo: Depositphotos.com
Destroyed tanks, abandoned in a field in Afghanistan. Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands has managed to bring 573 people out of Afghanistan since the main evacuation ended in August, the AD reported on Monday.

The figures from the foreign affairs ministry show 352 people were brought out via Qatar and 221 via Islamabad in Pakistan. The total, which includes family members, involves 228 people with a Dutch passport or residency permit.

The Netherlands evacuated some 2,500 people from Kabul as the city fell to the Taliban, but there was much criticism of the chaos and hundreds of people were left behind. Foreign minister Sigrid Kaag resigned after MPs passed a motion of censure against her.

Human Rights Watch reported at the beginning of December that people who did work for the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan were being targeted and executed by the Taliban. At least one person who worked for the Netherlands is thought to have been killed.

Research for television current affairs show Nieuwsuur in September showed seven in 10 Dutch people say that the Netherlands should accept refugees from Afghanistan in principle, but 17% are completely opposed.

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