Boris Johnson to hold emergency Afghanistan talks with G7 leaders

Boris Johnson to hold emergency Afghanistan talks with G7 leaders

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of G7 leaders on August 24 for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan.

It comes as Nato confirms 20 people have died ‘in and around’ Kabul airport during a complex operation to airlift people out of the Taliban-controlled city.

U.S. troops are due to withdraw on August 31, putting intense pressure on Western allies to evacuate people rapidly and leave enough time to get military personnel out.

The prime minister said: ‘It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.’

The UK is president of the group in 2021. It includes the US, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. There are signs the UK could look to put pressure on the US to maintain it troop presence on the ground in Kabul beyond the end of the month to allow the evacuation mission to continue, Metro reported.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Operation Pitting evacuation mission is being supported by 1,000 British troops – including Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade – with nearly 4,000 people repatriated from Afghanistan since August 13.

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