French foreign minister heads to UAE to see airlift operation from Afghanistan

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is due in the UAE Monday to see for himself the massive airlift underway from Afghanistan using the Gulf nation as a staging post. 

A French army pilot sits in a Rafale fighter jet at the Al-Dhafra 104 airbase in the United Arab Emirates STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

France is seeking to evacuate more than 1,000 Afghans who are fleeing the country following the Taliban's takeover a week ago.

Le Drian and Defence Minister Florence Parly are visiting the Al-Dhafra base — some 30 kilometres from the capital Abu Dhabi — where the French airforce has been conducting round the clock operations in support of the evacuations.

Since August 15, "nearly 100 French residents, 40 residents of partner nations, and more than 1,000 (at-risk) Afghans" have been transported to France via the Emirates, Le Drian's delegation said in a statement.

A flight with 250 French and Afghans aboard left for Paris on Sunday followed by another in the early hours of Monday with 150 passengers.

The first emergency flight on August 17 carried 41 people, mostly French.

• France, US have a 'moral duty' to help those in danger to leave Afghanistan

Le Drian and Parly will meet diplomats, military personnel, police officers, and "all the staff working under extremely difficult conditions to enable evacuation operations from Kabul", the statement said.

They were also due to meet Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, de facto leader of the UAE, to "thank the Emirati authorities for their support", the communique added.

#Afghanistan
Je me rends aujourd'hui à Abou Dabi avec @florence_parly pour remercier notre partenaire émirien de son appui et faire le point sur les opérations d'évacuation en cours depuis l'Afghanistan.https://t.co/QaTui04kDW

— Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) August 23, 2021

More time needed

France has a permanent military presence in the Emirates from where it conducted parts of its aerial campaign against the Islamic State armed group.

France is one of several NATO and EU member states that are scrambling to rescue vulnerable foreign staff and Afghan allies from Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the capital just over a week ago.

• Kabul evacuations continue as Macron is accused of playing politics

Britain said Monday it would urge the United States at a virtual G7 summit to extend an end-of-the-month deadline to complete evacuations of Western citizens and Afghan colleagues from Kabul.

US President Joe Biden has set an August 31 deadline for the chaotic airlift organised by thousands of temporarily deployed US troops — but has left the door open to an extension if needed.

On Monday the Taliban warned there would be "consequences" if the US and its allies extend their presence in Afghanistan.

• 'There's no soft Talibanism': France rules out recognising militant rulers

"We need time to accomplish this task, measured in days and weeks not months," Le Drian told the French Journal du Dimanche weekly.

Since August 14, roughly 25,100 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan aboard aircraft flown by the US and its allies, according to a White House estimate.

(with AFP)