According to a senior Qatari government official, one of the largest evacuation flights departed Kabul on Sunday with an unknown number of Americans on board and is on its way to Doha.
Since August 31, this is the ninth evacuation flight from Afghanistan that carried 353 people, including academics, employees, and students from the American University of Afghanistan, as well as people from the country itself, the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia, according to the official.
The number of Americans on board was not specified by the official. The passengers will be transferred to a facility that is already hosting evacuees in Doha, Qatar, where they will be tested for Covid-19. They’ll stay in Doha till they’re ready to depart for their next destination.
The Qatari official said that Qatar will “continue to work with international partners on efforts that ensure freedom of movement in Afghanistan, including through serving as an active mediator between various parties. We remain focused on providing humanitarian aid to the country and are dedicated to promoting a stable and peaceful Afghanistan moving forward.”
Earlier this month, US media claimed that the US plans to begin evacuation flights from Afghanistan by the end of the year. The US State Department will organize flights to Qatar until then. Hundreds of people rushed to the airport when the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, causing turmoil for many days. Qatar has been supporting the evacuation of civilians from Kabul to Doha since mid-August. The majority of the refugees are en route to Qatar, where they will be temporarily sheltered before boarding aircraft to their final destinations.