UK to send around 600 troops to Afghanistan to evacuate British nationals

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It comes as the Taliban have captured major cities in a quick advance (Picture: Getty)

The UK is to deploy around 600 troops to evacuate British nationals in Afghanistan as the security situation there rapidly deteriorates.

It comes after the Foreign Office changed travel advice to recommend that Brits leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, while commercial travel options remain available.

The Ministry of Defence said that the additional military personnel will arrive in Kabul over the coming days.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘I have authorised the deployment of additional military personnel to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, assist British nationals to leave the country and support the relocation of former Afghan staff who risked their lives serving alongside us.

‘The security of British nationals, British military personnel and former Afghan staff is our first priority. We must do everything we can to ensure their safety.’

It comes after a US official said the United States would also send additional troops into the country to help evacuate some personnel from the embassy in Kabul.

Displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Share-e-Naw park to various mosques and schools in Kabul today (Picture: Getty)

The troops will provide ground and air support for the processing and security of Americans being sent out of the country, said the official.

Afghan government forces are collapsing even faster than US military leaders thought possible just a few months ago when President Joe Biden ordered a full withdrawal.

But there is little appetite at the White House, the Pentagon or among the American public for trying to stop the rout.

Mr Biden has made it clear he has no intention of reversing the decision he made last spring, even as the outcome seems to point towards a Taliban takeover.

With most US troops now gone and the Taliban accelerating their battlefield gains, American military leaders are not pressing him to change his mind.

They know that the only significant option would be for the president to restart the war he already decided to end.

The Taliban ruled the country from 1996 until US forces invaded after the 9/11 attacks.

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