12 people dead at Afghan airport and Raab called to resign after being 'too busy' on holiday
12 people have been killed in and around the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Taliban and NATO officials have confirmed. The Taliban seized the city on Sunday, triggering a rush of terrified people trying to leave.
The deaths were caused by gun shots and stampedes, a Taliban official said on today (Thursday) and he urged people still crowded at the gates of the facility to go home if they did not have the legal right to travel.
The Taliban official, who declined to be identified said:
"We don't want to hurt anyone at the airport,"
Image: People gathered outside the airport react to gunfire, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 18, 2021 in this still image taken from video. ASVAKA NEWS via REUTERS
Dominic Raab was enjoying a luxury break with his family at a five-star resort in Greece while the Afghan crisis unravelled over the weekend - only returning to London on Monday.
Labour leader Keir Starmer was furious on Wednesday saying: "You cannot co-ordinate an international response from the beach!"
Above left 5 Star Hotel in Crete where Raab (right) relaxed amid Afghan crisis
The diplomatic impact meant the Afghan government did not agree an urgent call between its foreign minister and a junior counterpart from the UK so no conversations could take place until the next day resulting in important time being lost.
Starmer told the House of Commons: “I wouldn’t stay on holiday while Kabul was falling.”
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas Symonds criticised Raab for putting the "brave" lives of interpreters at risk.
He tweeted: "This is a dereliction of duty. Failing to make a call has put the lives of brave interpreters at risk, after they served so bravely with our military. Utterly shameful."
Labour MP Lisa Nandy asked why Raab was still in his job and added: "What could possibly have been more important than safeguarding the legacy of two decades of sacrifice and hard-won victories in Afghanistan? While the Foreign Secretary lay on a sun lounger, the Taliban advanced on Kabul and 20 years of progress was allowed to unravel in a matter of hours."
The Foreign Office responded with a statement saying: “The Foreign Secretary was engaged on a range of other calls and this one was delegated to another minister.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace defended Mr Raab, telling Sky News: “One phone call is not the reason we are where we are at the moment. I have had no problem dealing with the Foreign Secretary or the Foreign Office throughout this process.”
Disturbing scenes continue to unfold in the Afghanistan capital where opponents to the Taliban desperately try to get out, news reports show scenes of desperate families throwing their children over to the military, out of fear for their lives.
Senior Foreign Office officials wanted Raab to ensure a safe passage for British military interpreters and said it needed to be him to make the call.
“We recommend the Foreign Secretary urgently calls the Afghan foreign minister Hanif Atmar,” the senior officials said in the message sent last week Friday, and reportedly seen by the Daily Mail journalists.
But foreign officials were reportedly told Mr Raab wasn’t free and the task was delegated to Foreign Office on duty, Lord Goldsmith.
Other European Foreign ministers have also been enjoying luxury breaks despite the current crisis include: Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó who is currently “on vacation” His deputy admitted on Wednesday that he did not know the whereabouts of his superior. Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio was spotted sunbathing on a southern Italian beach and reports say he will not appear before a parliamentary committee on Afghanistan until 24 August.