Animal Airlift: Escaping the Taliban

Foreign nationals and some vulnerable Afghan citizens were airlifted from Kabul by the United States and its allies in 2021. The airlift followed the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 and during the final stages of the US and NATO troop withdrawal, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of Kabul and declared victory on 15 August 2021, and the NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. With the Taliban controlling the entirety of the city except Hamid Karzai International Airport, hostilities ceased and the Taliban assisted in the evacuation effort by providing security and screening evacuees during the Biden administration. Although some countries had previously begun small-scale evacuation efforts in the months leading up to August 2021, such as the American Operation Allies Refuge and the British Operation Pitting, the collapse of the Afghan government occurred sooner than intelligence projections had estimated, and evacuation efforts became more urgent. Several countries launched new evacuation operations, such as Canada's Operation AEGIS, India's Operation Devi Shakti, and South Korea's Operation Miracle. The evacuation operations were one of the largest airlifts in history. Between 14 and 25 August, the US alone evacuated about 82,300 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport, including US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other vulnerable Afghans. In total, over 122,000 people were airlifted abroad. The evacuation was completed on August 30, one day before a deadline agreed upon with the Taliban.