Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 01:40pm on 11 Dec 2023,Monday International
The BBC has learned about 200 Afghan special forces soldiers, trained and funded by the UK, now face deportation from Pakistan to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who served the British Army in Afghanistan for over 12 years, calls it a "betrayal" and "disgrace" after the UK failed to relocate the commandos, saying the cost would be these soldiers dying or jailed. In 2021, Boris Johnson told Parliament their service was "incredibly important", adding the UK would do "whatever we can" to get "safe passage" for them. It comes amid revelations the UK rejected calls to offer asylum to 32 key Afghan civilian leaders who aided UK-US operations. Barrons says the failure to protect Afghan allies is "unacceptable" and "reflects that either we're duplicitous as a nation or incompetent."
