Yahoo News Moment defence secretary chokes up and admits 'some people won’t get back' from Afghanistan
Watch: Defence secretary admits 'some people won't get back' from Afghanistan
The UK defence secretary Ben Wallace became visibly emotional during a TV interview as he admitted “some people won’t get back” from Afghanistan as the UK tries to evacuate British citizens and local allies.
There have been chaotic scenes at the capital Kabul’s international airport on Monday after the Taliban seized control of the country.
Thousands of people have flocked to the airport and its runways in a desperate effort to flee Afghanistan.
About 4,000 British nationals and eligible Afghans, including interpreters, are thought to be in the city and in need of evacuation.
The UK has sent 600 British troops for the evacuation as part of Operation Pitting. Wallace said the UK hopes to evacuate 1,000 people per day though the situation is becoming increasingly chaotic.
The US and other foreign powers have rushed to fly out diplomatic and other staff but, on Monday afternoon, the United States temporarily halted all evacuation flights to clear people from the airfield.
The speed at which Afghan cities fell - in just days - and the likely crackdowns on freedom of speech and women's rights gained in 20 years have sparked angry criticism.
The chaotic nature of the withdrawal has led to fears that many Afghans, who face the threat of death in their homeland for helping Western countries in the past 20 years, will now be denied the chance to seek asylum in the UK.
Wallace, who previously served in the Scots Guards, choked up during an appearance on LBC Radio on Monday.
He said: “It’s a really deep part of regret for me. Look, some people won’t get back.
“Some people won’t get back and we will have to do our best in third countries to process those people.”
Asked why he felt the situation “so personally”, Wallace replied: “Because I’m a soldier.
“Because it’s sad and the West has done what it’s done, we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations and 20 years of sacrifice is what it is.”
The first flight of British nationals and embassy staff arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Sunday night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday.
Last night the first flight of British Nationals and Embassy Staff arrived at RAF Brize Norton as part of Op PITTING.
The UK Armed Forces are supporting the evacuation of British Nationals and those eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Program. pic.twitter.com/IyGNIMEaD0— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 16, 2021
The Reuters news agency reported on Monday that witnesses said five people had been killed at Kabul airport.
One witness told the news agency he had seen the bodies of five people being taken to a vehicle.
American soldiers took control of the capital’s international airport as the US tried to evacuate its embassy staff, while commercial flights were halted.
The US said its troops fired gunshots into the air to prevent desperate Afghans from trying to board its flights.
In a separate interview, Wallace said the barrier to helping more people leave the country was how quickly they could be processed.
He told BBC Breakfast: “Our flights, our planning and coming in and out and soon if we manage to keep it in the way we’re planning to, we should have capacity for over 1,000 people a day to exit to the UK.
“Currently, this is not about capacity on planes, it’s about processing speed, so that’s why we’re trying to fix that.
“We will try our very best to get everyone out, it’s one of the biggest regrets of the speed of the collapse of the Afghan government is that those timetables will no doubt have to be shortened and that’s what we’re moving extra assets to do.”
Wallace said the government was aiming to fly out a further 1,500 people over the next 24 to 36 hours or slightly longer.
Kabul airport has so far not come under attack but there are fears that could change quickly with Taliban insurgents now effectively in control of the capital.
Triumphant Taliban fighters were pictured in the presidential palace abandoned by president Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country while his forces gave up the city without a fight.
Watch: Thousands gather at Kabul airport to flee Afghanistan
