Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Dutch diplomats flee Kabul, abandon Afghan staff with Taliban

Dutch diplomats have fled Kabul, abandoning their Afghan staff amid Taliban takeover.

• August 17, 2021

Dutch diplomats have fled Kabul, abandoning their Afghan staff amid Taliban takeover.

Dutch media NRC reported that about 37 Afghan employees of the embassy and their family members, up to 200 people, were left behind.

“When Afghan employees of the Dutch embassy in Kabul arrived at the office on Sunday, they were flabbergasted to find that the Dutch had all left without telling them anything. They just left,” NRC stated.

While announcing its intention to shut down its Kabul embassy on Friday, the Dutch government had promised to evacuate some of its local Afghan staff in light of the collapsing security situation in Afghanistan. Also, the country’s Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld was quoted to have said that the number of Afghan translators and local staff to be evacuated amounted to “a few dozen.”

Last week the Dutch foreign ministry asked its citizens remaining in Afghanistan to leave quickly, warning that the embassy could not shoulder the responsibility of evacuating them.

Over the weekend, the extremists made major advances across Afghanistan as the U.S. and other countries started withdrawing their troops from the country.

The original date for the full withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan was September 11, to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The group took over most of southern, northern, and western Afghanistan.

Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and the biggest city in the north, fell to the Taliban on Saturday, as regional leaders and security forces abandoned the city, fleeing to Uzbekistan for safety.

On Sunday, the Taliban fighters entered the city of Kabul, taking over power from Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Burial of Ebola victims

Africa

Ebola deaths in DR Congo hit 3,200

Ebola virus continues to spread in the eastern provinces of the DRC, with more than 3,200 deaths reported, the UN said.

Education

NOUN appoints Ramatu Ibrahim as acting bursar

NOUN said Ms Ibrahim’s appointment took effect from Tuesday, September 8, 2026, and would remain in force until further notice.

States

Yayi can’t win Ogun election, he is Sulaimon Ogunleye from Ekiti: Wale Adedayo

Mr Adedayo alleged that Mr Adeola was originally Sulaimon Ogunleye from Ekiti State but now falsely claims Ogun State ancestry for political gains.

World

FG condemns fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

“Nigeria regards the fresh hostilities as a serious threat not only to the security and sovereignty of Saudi Arabia but also to regional stability in the Middle East,” he said.

Nasiru Marafa

Education

NOUN declares three-day mourning for slain bursar

The university said, “The mourning period commenced on Monday, September 7 and would end on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

Nasarawa State University, Keffi

States

Nasarawa varsity seeks assembly intervention to end ASUU strike

Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), has appealed to the House of Assembly to intervene in the ongoing ASUU strike.