Hundreds of EU staffers escorted into Kabul airport by French troops

French special forces escorted over 200 European Union (EU) staffers into the Kabul airport on Monday.

France’s ambassador to Afghanistan, David Martinon, shared the news on Twitter, writing that French troops worked alongside the U.S. military to bring 260 EU employees into the Kabul airport.

According to Martinon, the EU delegates are in a “waiting area.”

Ce matin, les forces spéciales françaises, en liaison avec l’armée américaine, ont pu faire entrer dans l’aéroport 260 collaborateurs de la Délégation de l’Union Europe à Kaboul. Ils sont accueillis dans la zone d’attente de l’ambassade de France avant embarquement. Bravo à l’UE. pic.twitter.com/GcIKpjCLTu

— David Martinon (@david_martinon) August 23, 2021

This evacuation comes as questions are raised as to how the U.S. will ensure the evacuation of American citizens and allies in Afghanistan.

Last week the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan said it “cannot ensure safe passage to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.”

“There are no specific flight times. We are running as many flights as we can every day. We do not have information on how long these flights will be available. Please come to the airport as soon as possible,” the embassy said.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had evacuated 8,000 people from Afghanistan in the previous 24 hours. Roughly 25,100 people have been evacuated in the past week.

President Biden also said on Sunday the Aug. 31 deadline that has been set for the evacuation operation may be extended.

“There are discussions going on among us and the military about extending,” Biden said during an address. “Our hope is we will not have to extend. But there are going to be discussions, I suspect, on how far along we are in the process.”

“Let me be clear: The evacuation of thousands of people from Kabul is going to be hard and painful, no matter when it started or when we began,” he said. “Would have been true if we had started a month ago or a month from now.”