JAKARTA (Reuters) – The air force of Indonesia will bring home 15 of its citizens from Afghanistan, its foreign ministry said on Friday, amid chaos and uncertainty in the country after the hardline Islamist Taliban seized power.
More than 18,000 people of various nationalities have been evacuated https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/over-18000-people-evacuated-since-sunday-kabul-airport-nato-official-2021-08-20 in recent days from Kabul airport, the site of mayhem and despair as thousands of people try to flee following the rapid takeover of key Afghan cities including Kandahar then Kabul, as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country, will pick up 15 of its citizens, said foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah.
Faizasyah did not provide further details, though a military spokesman said the air force was sending a flight to Kabul which was expected to arrive home later on Friday.
Scenes from the Kabul airport, heavily guarded by over 5,000 U.S. troops, have captured global attention, telling a story https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/small-afghan-girl-is-lifted-crowd-capturing-desperation-flee-kabul-2021-08-19 of panic and desperation, with thousands of men, women and children trying to leave aboard military and civilian flights.
Some have been killed and Taliban forces have shot into the air to control the crowds.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry earlier this week said the safety of its citizens, including embassy staff, was a priority for government.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Martin Petty)
