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AFGHANISTAN

Injured soldiers back on Swedish soil

Two of the five soldiers injured in Wednesday's bomb explosion in Afghanistan landed back home in Sweden on Thursday evening. A further two aircraft with medical personnel onboard have been dispatched to bring back other soldiers involved in the incident.

Published: 13 November 2009 09:37 CET

The first aircraft landed at Ärna airport, north of Uppsala at 19.00 Swedish time on Thursday evening.

The two solders, a 40-year-old from Helsingborg and a 23-year-old from Motala, were taken directly to Uppsala University hospital. The two are reported to be in a critical condition.

Soldiers and military personnel were at the airport to greet them, including General Major Berndt Grundevik.

”It feels safe to have the first two back home” he told newspaper Dagens Nyheter. ”They will receive the best care possible.”

After the explosion, in which their vehicle hit a roadside explosive, the five were were taken to a field hospital located at Camp Marmal, home of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). A 22-year.old Afghanistan interpreter died in the attack.

The group was travelling in a BAE Land Systems light armoured patrol vehicle, known colloquially in Sweden as Galten (‘the Boar’).

Earlier this year the Boar replaced the civil Toyata Land Cruiser, which came under criticism for its poor safety record.

”We don’t want to comment on the exact safety levels for obvious reasons but thankfully they were driving a Galten and not a Toyota,” Patrik Persson, the military’s security experts told DN.

An investigation is due to take place into the rescue operation which was subject to delay. The group were evacuated from the scene two hours after the explosion by American military helicopters.

The Swedish Armed Forces claim they could have been transported from the area in 25 minutes.

A second aircraft is expected to land around lunchtime on Friday with a third injured soldier onboard. A further plane has been dispatched to Afghanistan to bring home a fourth solider who is reported to be the most seriously injured.

”It is still unknown when the soldier’s condition will be stable enough for him to return home,” the Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement.

After receiving medical treatment, the fifth soldier returned to the Swedish base camp outside Mazar-i-Sharif. It is unknown as to whether he will return to duty.

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AFGHANISTAN

Spain starts evacuating Afghan employees via Pakistan

Spain was on Monday evacuating via Pakistan Afghan helpers left behind when western forces quit Kabul, a government source confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Published: 11 October 2021 15:58 CEST
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

The government source declined to give any details of the move, citing security concerns.

But Spanish media, including daily El País and National Radio, reported that Madrid would bring close to 250 Afghan citizens, who had already crossed into Pakistan and would be flown out on military transport planes.

The first flight was expected to arrive on Monday evening.

Spain’s evacuations have been weeks in the making, with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares visiting Pakistan and Qatar in early September to lay the groundwork.

Madrid evacuated over 2,000 people, most of them Afghans who had worked for Spain and their families, during the western withdrawal as the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August.

But the flights had to stop once the final American troops that had been protecting the Afghan capital’s airport left.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in August that Spain would not “lose interest in the Afghans who had remained” in their country but wanted to leave.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Friday urged the bloc’s member states to host a “minimum” of between 10,000 and 20,000 more Afghan refugees.

“To welcome them, we have to evacuate them, and we’re getting down to it, but it’s not easy,” he said in Madrid.

The EU has said a demand by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take in 42,500 Afghan refugees over five years can be achieved — although any decision lies with member states.

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