Whistleblower says UK’s “chaotic” Afghan withdrawal led to murder of some left behind – BBC News

BBC News published this video item, entitled “Whistleblower says UK’s “chaotic” Afghan withdrawal led to murder of some left behind – BBC News” – below is their description.

The British government has been defending its withdrawal from Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power, after a UK government whistleblower said the operation was “chaotic” and “dysfunctional” and it was clear that some of those Afghans left behind had been murdered by the Taliban.

Afghans who had served alongside British troops or diplomatic staff were all eligible for evacuation, as western forces pulled out in August 2021.

However Raphael Marshall, a former employee at the UK Foreign Office, said that understaffing meant that thousands of emails from Afghans pleading for help from the British authorities were not read.

Mr Marshall said that of the 95% of applicants left behind “it is clear that some have since been murdered by the Taliban”. He also claimed that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had personally pushed for animals to be rescued, at the “direct expense” of humans.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by diplomatic correspondent James Landale and Secunder Kermani in Kabul.

BBC News YouTube Channel

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About This Source - BBC News

The video item below is a piece of English language content from BBC News. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster funded by the UK Government, and British license fee payers. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London.

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In This Story: Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south; Iran to the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north; and China to the northeast.

Occupying 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi), it is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest. Kabul is the capital and largest city. The population is around 32 million, composed mostly of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks.

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In This Story: Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter.

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In This Story: Taliban

The Taliban or Taleban, who refer to themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamist movement and military organization in Afghanistan, currently waging war within the country. Since 2016, the Taliban’s leader has been Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.

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