LONDON: A group of 30 Britons stranded in Afghanistan has released a video pleading for help in getting them and their families out of the country, accusing London of abandoning them to the Taliban.
Sixteen men, many of them clasping their British passports, appeared in the video, begging the British government to evacuate them and their families.
A spokesperson for the group said there are 100 of them in the country, all part of a WhatsApp group, and 30 had managed to make it to Kabul in secret to record the message earlier this month.
“We demand that the government doesn’t walk away from its responsibilities towards its citizens and their families,” he said. “We need to get back to our lives in the UK.”
The Taliban seized Afghanistan from the former government in July and August this year, in an offensive that was so swift that it caught the US, the UK and other countries off guard.
The British group’s spokesperson said their numbers include healthcare workers, plumbers, taxi drivers, engineers and more, and requested that visa requirements be waived for their family members in order to speed up their removal from Afghanistan.
“We can’t forget the enormous sacrifices men and women in uniform made to help and evacuate thousands to safety during Operation Pitting — we stand with them and we thank them. But the mission isn’t accomplished yet,” he said. “We’re still stranded and need to get back to our lives in the UK.”
In their video message, the Britons highlighted how American evacuations from Kabul airport — which is now fully functional — have continued, while it appears that London has “completely forgotten and abandoned us.”
The spokesperson said: “We demand the UK government to act now and arrange for chartered flights immediately for all the British citizens and their immediate family members.”
