This archive report was first published on 21 August 2021.
Published on August 21, 2021, the emergency airlift from Kabul of both foreign nationals and Afghans who worked with them is gathering pace as more detail of the desperation and fear driving the rescues emerges.
US President Joe Biden said he could not guarantee the outcome of emergency evacuations from Kabul, describing it as 'one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history.'
"This is one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history," Biden said in a televised address from the White House, adding that the US had evacuated more than 13,000 people.
Access to the Kabul airport is proving a 'big challenge' for foreigners and vulnerable Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover, warned NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
European countries are stepping up their efforts to evacuate people from Kabul, with Germany, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands all reporting evacuations.
More than 1,600 people have been brought to safety so far by German armed forces from the Afghan capital, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said.
A Spanish commercial plane carrying 110 people -- mainly Afghans who worked for the Spanish embassy in Kabul and their families -- landed in Madrid on Friday afternoon.
However, the situation at Kabul airport remains dramatic, with thousands still waiting to be rescued. A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the evacuation of 300 vulnerable Afghans fleeing the Taliban has raised over $6 million.
