UK urges citizens to not visit Kabul airport as security situation remains 'volatile'
Aug 26, 2021
London [UK], August 26 : Noting that the security situation in Afghanistan remains 'volatile', the United Kingdom has advised its citizens to not visit Kabul airport and move away to a "safe location and await further advice".
In a statement on late Wednesday, the UK foreign office said travelling by road in Afghanistan is currently extremely dangerous, Sputnik reported.
"The security situation in Afghanistan remains volatile. There is an ongoing and high threat of terrorist attacks. Do not travel to Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport. If you are in the area of the airport, move away to a safe location and await further advice," the Foreign Office said in a statement on late Wednesday.
"Commercial flights are not currently operating. If you can leave Afghanistan safely by other means, you should do so immediately," the Foreign Office concluded.
The new advisory comes as the Taliban has said they have blocked the road to the Kabul airport and will not allow anyone except foreign citizens to pass.
This also comes as the foreign troops' withdrawal deadline is approaching. US President Joe Biden recently made it clear that the US is sticking to the 31 August deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Earlier, several countries have urged the US to extend its deadline for troops drawdown as several foreign citizens and vulnerable Afghans are still stuck in the war-ravaged country.
The UK Ministry of Defence said that more than 11,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan by London.
"Latest numbers from Operation PITTING: - 11, 474 people have been evacuated by the UK since 13 August; - 6946 of those people are Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy claimants," the ministry wrote on its Twitter page on late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the US state department on Wednesday sent out an alert advising its citizens to avoid travelling to the Kabul airport.
"Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so," a security alert from the US Embassy in Kabul said on Wednesday.
"U.S. citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately."
