Switzerland and Czech nationals evacuated from Kabul

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<strong>Switzerland has evacuated three of its nationals from Afghanistan which has been taken over by the Taliban following the withdrawal of forces by the United States.</strong></p>
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Besides this, efforts are being made by this European nation to help other Afghans too, who are colleagues of the three evacuated Swiss nationals. This was announced by the Foreign Minister of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis.</p>
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In a tweet Cassis said: "We were able to get our three employees from the SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) office in Kabul out of the country with the help of our partners. They are on their way to Switzerland."</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/china-ready-to-deepen-ties-with-taliban-as-part-of-great-game-against-west-108237.html">China ready to deepen ties with Taliban as part of great game against West</a></strong></p>
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The European country has no embassy in Afghanistan, but the country’s Foreign Ministry's international development arm, the SDC, has long been present in Kabul.</p>
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Switzerland had announced earlier that it would repatriate the three remaining Swiss SDC employees, and said some 40 local employees of the agency and their families were being offered a humanitarian visa to come to Switzerland.</p>
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Today Cassis tweeted: "We are working flat out to evacuate the local staff under the most difficult circumstances.”</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/us-troops-fire-in-the-air-at-kabul-airport-as-fleeing-afghans-rush-to-planes-108200.html">US troops fire in the air at Kabul airport as fleeing Afghans rush to planes</a></strong></p>
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Meanwhile, the first Czech evacuation plane left Kabul and reached Prague. It had 46 people on board according to Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babis.</p>
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The evacuated included nationals of Czech, the Afghan staffers at the Czech embassy, and Afghan interpreters – who were very useful to the Czech armed forces during NATO missions — together with their families.</p>
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The country’s Interior Minister Jan Hamacek described the Czech flight taking off as a “miracle” given the situation in Kabul’s airport.</p>