British Royal Air Force personnel who helped thousands leave Kabul following the Taliban takeover have revealed how they feared it was one mission too far.
In a revealing documentary being aired in the UK over the next few days, officers speak candidly of the two-week scramble to rescue people from Kabul during Operation Pitting.
The three-part Channel 4 documentary Evacuation exposes the anguish felt by personnel as they desperately tried to help Afghans in August 2021.
Squadron Leader Diana Bird had told her commander she needed as many people as possible on the mission.
“If we’re talking Kabul and the Taliban have taken over and it’s the Fall of Saigon two, I need every single person you can give me,” she told him.
“I was taking 19-year-olds, it was like taking a sixth-form field trip to Kabul. That first night, there was still this peace and clam but my gut told me it was all about to go south and it was just going to get nasty.
“I didn’t anticipate how quickly that was going to happen.”
She had set up an operations centre next to the airport that was soon under attack.
“We heard gunfire outside at the airport and the alarms went off. It was an emotional night, we had been attacked and the Taliban were now in the area around the airport,” she said.
“We didn’t know what the Taliban were going to do and all bets were off.
“I went up on to the balcony and looked out across this sea of people and I thought we are completely surrounded, you cannot fly out of the airfield, nothing can take off or land that is big.
“The Taliban are surrounding the airport so we can’t drive, there is no where to go the country has fallen. I thought I may not be going home, this may have been a trip too far.
“There was an awful lot of gunfire coming from that crowd. If we get overrun now, I’m dead.”
Thousands of people descended on the airport in a desperate bid to leave the country.
People were crushed while others tried to cling to the wings of planes and even jumped into sewers to reach the airfield.
“There were a large number of Afghan nationals at the extreme rim of the airfield,” Parachute Regiment Sgt Maj Adam told the filmmakers.
“The Turkish were keeping them under control. I remember thinking if all of them at one moment decide to break through how can we control this situation.
“I first saw the runway being completely swamped with Afghan nationals and thousands more behind them. The runway was completely unworkable.
“They kept jumping on the wheels and wings, anything they could. They were climbing in through the under carriage. I have never seen desperation like it.”
The scene by the processing hotel was a similar picture and the forces explain how they needed the Taliban’s help to control the situation.
Ahmad Fahim, a private in the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment who was born in Kabul, said he had previously been shot by the Taliban and has been in horrific ambushes where he nearly died.
He said he had seen Taliban fighters stopping a bus and randomly taking people off and shooting them dead in the road.
His job was to go and speak to the Taliban to ask if they would let the British get on with the evacuation.
“In that moment, I had to control my feelings and focus on the job to convince them that it was in their best interest for us to [leave] as fast as we can,” he said. “If they want us to go they have to help us.”
The soldiers said it was easier for the Taliban to control the crowd as people feared them.
“Numerous women and children were crushed to death and we were stood there helpless,” said Sgt Maj Gaz McMahon.
Prior to the final planes leaving, a suicide bomber set a bomb off in the crowd. The soldiers interviewed had been in the same spot on a daily basis.
They spoke of the harrowing scenes and seeing children lying dead in the street.
“I have seen some grim stuff and that was grim,” Sgt Maj Gaz McMahon said. “It was absolute devastation.”
The blast killed 170 civilians and 13 US marines.
“The spot where the bomb went off, I was there every day,” Fahim said.
A total of 15,722 people were evacuated from Kabul by the August 31 deadline.
Sgt Maj Gaz was the last British military person to leave.
“I was the last person to shut the army gate. There were civilians following us and we had to shut the gate in their face and leave them,” he said.
“That bothered me but in terms of seats on the aircraft, we had maxed them out.”
Reflecting on the scene left behind, Sgt Maj Adam said: “We couldn’t save everyone, there were too many people. It was unachievable. We should have gone earlier.”
The second parts of the documentary will be shown on Monday and Tuesday.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
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4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
