UK in talks with Taliban to allow safe passage out of Afghanistan

WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP

Britain is in direct talks with the Taliban over securing safe passage out of Afghanistan for UK nationals and Afghans who have worked for Britain.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, travelled to Doha to meet with Taliban representatives, a government spokesperson said in a statement.

"(Gass) is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past twenty years," the statement said.

The United States completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan on Monday, ending 20 years of war that culminated in the Taliban's return to power.

Britain's mission came to an end on Saturday, when its last military flight left Kabul after evacuating more than 15,000 people in the two weeks since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

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