Australia, New Zealand evacuate 1,200 people from Kabul

CANBERRA: Australia and New Zealand have evacuated a further 1,200 people from Afghanistan amid a deteriorating situation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that 1,200 people were flown out of Kabul on six Australian flights and one New Zealand flight on Wednesday night in the biggest evacuation effort since the city fell to the Taliban.

It takes the total number of people evacuated from Afghanistan by the two nations to approximately 4,000, which Morrison said was three times more than he thought possible.

Morrison said the Australian Defence Force (ADF) would continue to do whatever it could to get more people out but warned that the situation is deteriorating.

“But we have to deal with the reality, the terrible, brutal and awful reality of the situation on the ground,” he said.

Australia has joined the United States and Britain in warning citizens and visa holders not to travel to Kabul airport, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warning of a highly volatile and dangerous situation. (Xinhua)