The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and its other agencies were temporarily moved to the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. The UN staff members are expected to stay in Kazakhstan for several months until the situation in Afghanistan stabilizes. Due to the escalation of the internal political situation in this country, the UN requested Kazakhstan for temporary relocation. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev decided to support the appeal.
“They all have the so-called UN laissez-passers. These are citizens of completely different countries. There are 193 member countries in the UN, that is, they can be citizens of any country. There are staff members that do not have the UN laissez-passers, but they are also UN personnel. These are consultants, they work under a contract and volunteers. There are citizens of the United States, Canada, Sri Lanka, African countries. People from all over the world,” noted Akan Rakhmetullin, Kazakh Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“We are very grateful for this support to the Kazakh Government to receive our colleagues here today. Currently, there is no other country than Kazakhstan that will be hosting an office to continue the United Nations’ work. But let me be very clear, the United Nations are staying in Afghanistan. We are not leaving. This is a vital time for us to stay and deliver to the millions of Afghans who are depending on humanitarian aid,” said Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan reportedly evacuated 42 people from Afghanistan. Among the arrived, 25 are our compatriots. In addition, at the request of the Kyrgyz side, 14 of their citizens were evacuated. As part of the humanitarian operation, residents of three more countries who asked for assistance were also taken out of Afghanistan.
“The situation at the Kabul airport is very difficult. The infrastructure is down. Takeoff and landing are carried out only by aircrafts of the U.S. and NATO countries. Nevertheless, our pilots successfully landed the plane and took off,” informed Yerbol Shakirov, Assistant to Military Attaché of Kazakhstan in Afghanistan.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
