Oval Useful news from Azerbaijan and Caucasus
On the morning of August 17, Azerbaijani peacekeepers ensured the safe evacuation of over 100 employees of the UN and other international organizations from the Kabul International Airport, local news sources have reported.
Moreover, the Azerbaijani peacekeepers are currently engaged in evacuating about 100 French citizens leaving Afghanistan in a hurry for their homeland. The Azerbaijani military are fulfilling their humanitarian mission with dignity, impartiality and at the highest level, the reports said.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry ruled out any obstacle to the Azerbaijani peacekeepers’ work to ensure the Kabul airport’s security.
The Azerbaijani army’s 120-member peacekeeping contingent, jointly with Turkish forces, continues to carry out official duties to ensure the security of the Kabul International Airport.
The Azerbaijani army’s peacekeeping detachment was formed in 1997 and since September 1999 Azerbaijani servicemen acted within the NATO/U.S.-led peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan.
Azerbaijan joined with a platoon to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) consisting of 21 soldiers in November 2002 to contribute to peace, security and order in Afghanistan. On 9 January 2018, the number of the Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Afghanistan was increased to 120 servicemen under a parliamentary decision.
The Taliban armed group retook power in Afghanistan 20 years after it was toppled by the USA. The collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul came in the wake of Taliban blitzkrieg that began on August 6 and led to the capture of more than two dozen Afghan provinces by the morning of August 15.
By Vafa Ismayilova
