Britain has ended its official role in a two-decades long conflict by pulling most of the British soldiers out of Afghanistan.
Sources say the Taliban are gaining ground and the departure of foreign soldiers has the potential to trigger a civil war.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson affirmed this by informing the parliament that all British troops assigned to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home.
Furthermore, Johnson added that “For obvious reasons, I will not disclose the timetable of our departure, though I can tell the house (parliament) that most of our personnel have already left.”
According to sources British forces were first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 followed by the Sep 11 attacks on the United States. This played a major role incombat operations until 2014.
The number of British casualties in Afghanistan totaled up to 457.
In April NATO, of which Britain is a member said that its troops would begin withdrawing in coordination with the decision made by President Joe Biden to pull US troops out by Sep 11.
Johnson said he did not undervalue the trials facing Afghanistan, also adding that the government would continue to contribute by delivering development assistance.
Johnson correspondingly went on to say “I hope no one will leap to the false conclusion that the withdrawal of our forces somehow means the end of Britain’s commitment to Afghanistan, we are not about to turn away, nor are we under any illusions about the perils of today’s situation and what might lie ahead”.
He further said that he cannot deny that the Taliban are making progress in rural areas but that does not imply that they could win the whole of Afghanistan.