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Author Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Afghan-trained Afghan pilots and other crew members living in a Uzbek camp for nearly a month began leaving the country on Sunday, one of the pilots told Reuters, in a US alliance that even the Taliban had reached. wants the return of Afghans and their planes.
The first group is traveling to the United Arab Emirates, said the pilot, who did not want to be named. The transfer is expected to take place in several waves, from Sunday to the next day or so.
Reuters was the first to report that pilots were leaving Uzbekistan. The Ministry of State and Uzbekistan’s work at the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters had already uncovered difficulties in the Uzbek camp, as pilots feared a return to Afghanistan https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-theyll-kill-us-afghan-pilots-held-uzbek- camp -horror-back-2021-09-03 and killed by Taliban. The Taliban have said they will not resort to violence when they take power in August.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the 46 planes, including the dangerous A-29 aircraft and the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, that the pilots flew to nearby Uzbekistan when the troops crashed and the Taliban took control.
Local and former US officials told Reuters that the Taliban had forced Uzbekistan to take over the plane with crew.
John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Uzbekistan, praised the expulsion from the United States, saying the United States was indebted to Afghan pilots.
“I believe we have the impression that the planes that took off will return to the United States and will not return to the Taliban,” he said.
The Taliban did not respond to a request for comment on the situation in Uzbekistan. The group hijacked planes, including helicopters and drones when Afghan troops melted away last month, and called for the withdrawal of planes from the country before the military took control of Kabul.
New Afghan authorities have called for former military personnel to join the security forces that have transformed their country and will not be harmed.
This gives the ring to Afghan pilots who spoke to Reuters. Even before they accepted the Taliban, English-trained, English-speaking pilots had followed them. Taliban militants pursued and killed other pilots. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-pilots-assassinated-by-taliban-us-withdraws-2021-07-09
At the Uzbek camp, near the city of Termez, pilots reported feeling like prisoners, not allowed to travel, and inadequate for food and medicine.
Hopes began to rise about a week ago when U.S. officials came to see the Afghans – many of whom fled as soon as they put on their backs. (Phil Stewart Report, Supplementary Report by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk; Edited by Cynthia Osterman and Daniel Wallis)