The first Australian Defence Force evacuation flight from Afghanistan has landed back at a military base in the United Arab Emirates after collecting 26 passengers from Kabul airport.
Key points:
- The passengers included Australian citizens and Afghans with Australian visas
- More people are expected to be evacuated in the coming days
- Around 600 people, including Australians and local staff, will be flown out of Kabul in total
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said more flights would be organised into the Taliban-held Afghan capital in the coming days.
"This is not a simple process," he said. "This was the first of what will be many flights, subject to clearance and weather."
"We will bring out as many people as we can, as quickly and safely as we can."
Earlier, the ABC revealed the flight had made it into, and out of, Kabul, touching down in the UAE.
Mr Morrison said the flight landed at 10:45am AEST.
"That included Australian citizens, Afghan nationals with visas and one foreign official working in an international agency," he said.
"The transfers are done to our base in the Emirates, where capacity has already been established with medical support available, to provide that medical support and to process their further onward transfer to Australia."
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said government officials were on the ground in Kabul, but that people heading to the airport were having to negotiate Taliban checkpoints.
"We are working closely with the US particularly, the UK, others, Germans included, to try to improve or address those security challenges."
Seven people were killed as crowds descended on Hamid Karzai airport after the Taliban seized control of the capital on Sunday.
A number of people were filmed clinging on to an American military jet as it took off, with the US Air Force later confirming it found human remains in the wheel well of one of its aircraft that left Kabul.
Department of Defence
)Refugee visas for Afghans
Mr Morrison said he believed the government would be able to provide at least 3,000 visas under the humanitarian visa program to Afghans this year.
But he said he wanted to make it clear the government would only resettle Afghans through official and "legitimate" channels.
Flight tracking websites showed the RAAF Hercules flying in and out of Afghanistan this morning, as part of an urgent mission to rescue Australians and Afghans from the city.
A Hercules can carry around 120 passengers, while a C-17 Globemaster, which will also fly into Kabul, can officially carry 134 people.
However, an American C-17 which left Kabul earlier this week was pictured carrying hundreds of people who had crammed into the aircraft's hold as they fled the city.
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A federal government spokesperson said the number of evacuees on each RAAF flight was expected to "ramp up" with subsequent flights.
Sources in Kabul said Australians were told to head to the airport last night, and another rescue flight could be launched as early as today.
This week Australia committed 250 troops and several military aircraft to the region with the hope of extracting around 600 people from Kabul.
That will include 100 Australian permanent residents and citizens and around 100 of their family members, plus 300 to 400 local employees.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton also confirmed yesterday that Australia would help get New Zealand citizens out of Kabul as well.
The airport in Kabul has been secured by US troops, something Mr Morrison said was crucial to facilitating Australian flights into the capital.
The PM said a number of states and territories had agreed to quarantine people brought back from Afghanistan above the current international passenger caps.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA4LTE4L2FmZ2hhbmlzdGFuLWthYnVsLXJlc2N1ZS1taXNzaW9uLWNhcnJ5aW5nLWF1c3RyYWxpYW5zLWxhbmRzLzEwMDM4NjY1MtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDAzODY2NTI?oc=5
2021-08-18 02:08:49Z
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