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A female Afghan army captain has recounted the harsh conditions she witnessed in Taliban-controlled areas before being flown to safety in the UK from Kabul.
Captain Muraal, 26, was rescued as part of the UK Government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy alongside her immediate family, who were also in danger.
“The route to safety was harsh, a humanitarian disaster,” said Capt Muraal, whose surname is not being released for security reasons.
“We had a lot of challenges. The first challenge was how to get out of our house, because all of the city is controlled by the Taliban and, finally, the gates are very crowded and they were also controlling the gates and were not letting people in.”
Capt Muraal and her family eventually penetrated the Taliban blockade.
“With the support of British forces we have made it through here today and I am really glad for that,” she said.
“It feels great and I am relieved to be here inside the airport and I think my family are safe now.”
Footage released subsequently by the Ministry of Defence showed her boarding a British military plane with others, after passing checks with UK armed forces at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Capt Muraal served in the Afghan National Army for eight years. She was trained at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, in south-west England, and gained a master’s degree in military and security studies at King’s College London. Now she plans to further her education in Britain and wants to help the UK military “in any capacity” she can.
Capt Muraal is one of more than 7,000 Afghans who have arrived safely in the UK since April 2021 under Arap, the MoD said.
More than 5,000 of those have been flown from Afghanistan by the armed forces since August 13, said the British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow.
Evacuees from Afghanistan arrive in Europe - In Pictures
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Passengers flown from Afghanistan land safely at RAF Brize Norton in southern England. AFP -
People believed to have recently arrived from Afghanistan stand in the courtyard of a hotel near Manchester Airport, England. The British government recently announced that it planned to transport thousands of Afghans to the UK as part of its Afghan Relocation and Assistance Program. Getty Images -
Britain is urging the US to extend the deadline of August 31 for Afghanistan evacuations. AFP -
RAF personnel pack necessities for Afghan nationals arriving at RAF Brize Norton, in England. AP Photo -
A member of the UK Armed Forces fist-bumping an evacuee during their deployment to support the evacuation of British nationals and entitled personnel at Kabul airport. AFP -
Afghan refugees arriving in a military plane at Roissy airport, north of Paris. AP Photo -
Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, welcomes some of the 292 Afghan refugees who landed at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base in Madrid, Spain. EPA -
US Army soldiers work together to set up cots at Camp Kasserine for the arrival of citizens from Afghanistan who will lodge at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. Reuters -
People are ferried by bus after disembarking an Air Belgium evacuation flight arriving from Afghanistan at Melsbroek Military Airport, Belgium. EPA -
Citizens arrive in Belgium after being flown to safety from Afghanistan. EPA -
Back on terra firma as people leave a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily. AFP -
A passenger looks through the window of a plane carrying people fleeing Afghanistan, at Boryspil International Airport outside Kiev. AFP -
Afghan people pass a Spanish soldier after arriving on a plane at the Torrejon military base as part of the evacuation process in Madrid. AP Photo -
Spanish military staff inspect luggage of some of the 260 Afghan citizens who were flown by Spanish authorities to the Torrejon military base. EPA -
An Afghan woman gave birth to a baby girl on board a US aircraft moments after the plane landed at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Photo: US Air Force -
US Air Force personnel play football with Afghan citizens who arrived at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. EPA
