Canada ends evacuations from Afghanistan

Ottawa,(ANI): Canada has ended airlifts from war-ravaged Afghanistan on Thursday, said acting chief of the defence staff General Wayne Eyre.

The Immigration Department sent a notice this morning read that evacuation operations are done and “at this time, no further evacuation flights are being planned”, reported Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

“The government of Canada recognises that there are a number of people in Afghanistan including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families, and applicants under programs for Afghans,” said the notice sent to all on the government’s list, CBC added. General Wayne Eyre said that most of the Canadians left the country eight hours ago although a small contingent is there to help allies.

“Until such a time that the security situation stabilizes, be mindful of the security environment and where possible, take the necessary steps to ensure your security and that of your family,” he added. So far, Canada has evacuated more than 37,000 people in total from Afghanistan.

Officials said on Thursday that they received applications from nearly 8,000 people to come to Canada. Nearly two-thirds of those applications have been processed. On Wednesday, the Danish air force also finished flights out of Kabul, and evacuated over 1,000 people since the Taliban took over, the Danish Defense Ministry said

“The last Danish Hercules plane has taken off from Kabul. Since August 15, the Danish air force has taken more than 1,000 people out of Afghanistan,” the ministry said. On August 15, Afghanistan fell under the control of the Taliban, prompting many countries to begin evacuating their citizens and diplomats, as well as limited numbers of local collaborators. Thousands of people have stormed the Kabul airport in the hope of getting out. (ANI)