KABUL – More than 2,700 people evacuated by Canadian airplanes, over 500 on Tuesday alone. And it is rushing to rescue other people but time is running out because Canada will also have to withdraw its troops by August 31, the date set by the Taliban for the exit from the country of “all foreigners”. 

This is what emerged from the press conference – the second in a few days – of the four Canadian federal ministers Marco Mendicino (Immigration), Harjit Sajjan (Defense), Maria Monsef (Women) and Marc Garneau (Foreign Affairs).

“We would have liked to stay past the deadline, but as you know this decision was made by the Americans”, Sajjan said. “We will try to evacuate as many people up to that point”. As the Americans are driving the 13-nation airlift that allows Afghans to fly out of Kabul airport, their withdrawal will mean everyone else will have to finish their missions, according to Sajjan. “Designing a mission takes a long time. It is not done overnight and carries a significant risk. While the Americans finalize the withdrawal to meet the deadline, partner nations, including Canada, must withdraw our troops, resources and aircraft before the Americans”, explained the Defense minister. “Even though the situation is difficult, we remain committed to evacuating as many people as possible. In the limited time we have left, this means that more vulnerable Canadians and Afghans will be evacuated”. But the situation on the ground “is deteriorating rapidly”, Garneau warned. “The security risks associated with our efforts are increasing as the final departure date approaches,” added the Foreign Minister.

Just two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented himself at the G7 on Afghanistan with the intention of announcing, to other world leaders, Canada’s intention to keep its military personnel in Afghanistan after the US deadline of 31 August. An intention in fact denied by today’s conference of his four ministers. And also an expression used by Monsef during today’s conference sounds like a “denial” to her premier: in addressing the Taliban an appeal to allow a safe exit from the country for all those who want to leave it, she called them “our brothers, the Taliban”. A very different vision from that of Trudeau, who a few days ago called them “terrorists” or, better, a group officially recognized by Canada as terrorist.

“I want to take this opportunity to speak to our brothers, the Taliban. We call on you – Monsef said (click here to watch the video) – to ensure the safe and secure passage of any individual in Afghanistan out of the country. We call on you to immediately stop the violence. The genocide, the femicide, the destruction of infrastructure including heritage buildings”.

During the same press conference, ministers confirmed that the current evacuation from Afghanistan is Canada’s largest, with 535 people crowded aboard a plane that departed from Kabul airport on Tuesday (in the pic above, from the Twitter page “Canadian Armed Forces Operations”) and, in all, 2,700 people evacuated from Kabul since the beginning of the crisis, on August 15 last.

“Canada greatly accelerated the speed at which we were able to get people out of Afghanistan”, Mendicino said. However, the evacuation effort is “a race against time”, Garneau said.

Canada had pledged to get over 20,000 people out of Afghanistan. But progress in filling those posts started slowly, and while Premier Justin Trudeau pointed to the Taliban as the biggest obstacle to the progress of the evacuation, those working on the ground say Canada’s lack of communication was a far more problem, great for those seeking security. “According to information that comes to me from Afghanistan, the real problem is not getting to the airport – said immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges in an interview with Global News -: the real problem is that there is no information, out there. The system is opaque”.

Among other things, news of a brutal crackdown is coming from those trapped in Afghanistan. “The situation is tragic – Silvia Redigolo, activist of the Pangea Foundation, the Italian non-profit organization active in Afghanistan, said today to the Italian press agency Adnkronos – : there are still the Taliban who beat and shoot. We have news of traumatized children, alone, who have lost their parents and of babies outside the gate in line for hours. It’s really all very, very difficult … “.