Turkish aircraft with 200 on board departs Afghanistan

By Aykut Karadag

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - A Turkish Armed Forces airplane carrying over 200 Turkish citizens departed the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, joining an exodus from an uncertain situation.

After waiting in the safe zone of Hamid Karzai International Airport, the group left Afghanistan on board an A400M plane, also known as a "flying fortress."

While the work to evacuate Turkish nationals continues, Turkish citizens who were brought from the Kabul city center to the safe area at the airport and now await flights told Anadolu Agency about what they went through and the situation in Kabul.

Nakimola Colak, who came from Turkey's southern Hatay province to Afghanistan three years ago, said that they reached the airport without any problems.

Kadir, another Turkish citizen, said that he worked for two years at the airport maintaining and repairing security systems.

"The Taliban's entry into Kabul, everything happened in one day,” he related.

“We immediately got to our embassy and the Foreign Ministry. We’re safe now and hopefully we’ll fly back to our country.”

- Taliban takes control over Afghanistan

As part of a peace deal reached in February 2020 between the US and the Taliban, this year international forces began their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The agreement mandated that the Taliban not target foreign forces, but there was no provision on its action towards Afghan security forces.

While keeping negotiations with the government going in Doha, Qatar, the Taliban intensified its attacks since June, taking control of many districts and provincial centers in the past month.

The Taliban on Sunday took the capital Kabul, with President Ashraf Ghani and other key officials fleeing the country.