UK troops have 48 hours to get civilians out of Afghanistan, warns former chief of defence staff

British troops have 48 hours to continue their evacuation efforts and get civilians out of Afghanistan, the former chief of defence staff has warned.

Lord David Richards said that if the country wants to "hit the August 31 deadline" that the Taliban has set as an exit date for all foreign evacuations, he is "pretty certain" the British Army has just two days to continue their civilian rescue efforts.

He said the British are "probably going to have to go along" with the August 31 exit date that was also set by the US to withdraw its military from the country, because they are "sadly in many respects running the show".

This comes as the Foreign Secretary said the UK will use "every hour" left to evacuate people from Afghanistan as he declined to rule out British troops having to leave by the end of Friday.

Dominic Raab said Britain is working "as fast as we can" to maximise the number of people who can flee, saying 2,000 have been evacuated in the previous 24 hours and "almost all" single-nationality UK citizens who want to leave have been brought home.

Mr Raab told Sky News: "The system is operating at full speed, at full capacity and we will use every last remaining hour and day to get everyone we can back, the British nationals, the Afghans who worked so loyally for us, we are getting the Chevening scholars back, also women's rights defenders and journalists."

Despite his 48-hour warning, Lord Richards said that he has "no doubt" the British troops will "sneak others in who arrived late along with their own people".

He added that we have reached a state where we have an interest in Taliban rule being successful, because the international community needs to accept "our failure and our defeat" and "put the Afghan people and their future now front and foremost".

This follows an admission from the French European Affairs Minister that it is "very probable" that France's operations to evacuate its citizens and partners from Afghanistan will end on Thursday.

Clement Beaune told C News TV on Wednesday that a new agreement regarding migration was needed between the European Union and Britain.

President Joe Biden said US troops in Afghanistan faced mounting danger as they pushed to complete evacuations by an August 31 deadline, with aid agencies warning of a looming humanitarian crisis for the population left behind.
 

On Tuesday evening, the president rejected calls to delay his August 31 exit date from Afghanistan, citing heightened security threats for his commitment to the deadline.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Biden said: "I'm mindful of the increasing risk I've been briefed on and the need to factor those risks in."

He added: "I've asked the Pentagon and State Department for contingency plans to adjust the [withdrawal] timeline if that becomes necessary."