Afghanistan: Evacuations continue as deadline nears — live updates

• Russia sends planes to evacuate more than 500 people
• German and US top envoys hold talks
• Two Afghan Paralympians have left the country, IPC officials say

This story was last updated at 08:32 UTC

Mexico and Uganda welcome Afghan refugees

Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard welcomed six Afghan refugees as they landed at Mexico City airport on Tuesday. “Welcome to your home,” Ebrard told them.

Five of the arrivals were women who had won a robotics competition. They fled Afghanistan earlier in the month and passed through six countries before arriving in Mexico.

A flight carrying 51 Afghans also landed in Uganda on Wednesday morning. Kampala agreed to accept “at-risk” Afghan nationals temporarily while they wait to be transferred to the US or other destinations.

The US embassy in Kampala thanked the east African country for its “generosity and hospitality toward these communities.”

Russia sends planes to evacuate more than 500 people

Four Russian military aircraft have been sent to Kabul to evacuate more than 500 people, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

They were sent on there on the orders of President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The report said the mission was to evacuate Russian nationals, but also citizens of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Germany’s Maas speaks to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted late on Tuesday that he had held talks with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken.

Berlin’s top diplomat said they discussed the “ongoing evacuation” and “further departure options for Afghans” who want to flee their homeland.

The Social Democrat politician said the pair also focused on how to deal with the Taliban, the hardline Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan.

Paralympians leave Afghanistan

Two Paralympians from Afghanistan have left the country, according to the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday.

Afghanistan’s team for the event was made up of female para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and male track athlete Hossain Rasouli.

The IPC said the pair were receiving counseling, but could not confirm if they would be able to travel to Japan.

On Tuesday, a group of female Afghan athletes left for Australia.

Afghanistan made its Paralympic debut at Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games and with the exception of the Sydney 2000, they have participated in every edition but have never won a Paralympic medal.

Tuesday’s key developments

Welcome to DW’s rolling coverage of the Afghanistan crisis. Here is a wrap of Tuesday’s main developments.

US President Joe Biden said that the US and its allies were on track to leave Afghanistan by August 31.

A push by G-7 leaders for President Biden to extend the deadline failed after talks during a virtual summit on Afghanistan.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas used one of his regular media appearances to warn that the West may fail to complete all evacuations by the end of the month.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned the Taliban that respecting women’s rights would be “a fundamental red line” for the international community.

ab, jf/rt (Reuters, AP)

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