PARIS: Hundreds of people, including Afghans, rallied on the streets of Paris in support of the people of Afghanistan, urging the French government to open “humanitarian corridors” so that they can leave the war-torn nation.
Around 300 demonstrators, mostly Afghans, protested at Place de la Republique in Paris. They were seen carrying placards and banners reading ‘Evacuation now”, “Save our family” and “Afghan lives matter”.
Reza Jafari, head of the association Children of Afghanistan and Elsewhere and organizer of Sunday’s event, told the protesters: “A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. We must prevent it now, open humanitarian corridors so that people who want to leave can leave.” Organizers also demanded a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian.
Several countries in Afghanistan are evacuating their citizens from Afghanistan as the country plunged into crisis. Recently, the minister had said that all requests made by Afghan citizens who had previously worked as allies for France would be considered for evacuation.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told the weekly newspaper Journal de Dimanche that “hundreds of names” had been added to the list of those wishing to flee Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover last week, and that “all requests would be considered in due course.”
The French Army has airlifted about 600 mainly Afghans on five flights out of Kabul in the week since the collapse of the government. Recently, more than a thousand French women including writers, activists, and politicians, and ordinary citizens co-signed an editorial piece, which appeared in Le Parisien on Friday, calling on President Emmanuel Macron, to “welcome” Afghan women and their families “unconditionally”.
Rallies and protests are taking place across the world in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban on August 15. Taliban have reporterly imposed strict restrictions against Afghans and are committing atrocities against civilians despite promising to respect women and minorities.
On Saturday, thousands of people took to the streets near Hyde Park in central London in support of Afghanistan. (ANI)
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