New Zealand won’t be accepting any more applications from Afghan nationals to resettle in New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) citing the “rapidly deteriorating situation” and lack of time left before the August 31 deadline.
New Zealand sent 80 personnel and a C-130 Hercules aircraft to assist efforts with partner nations to get Kiwis home and re-locate those who assisted our country during our troops’ deployment in Afghanistan.
The first group of New Zealand citizens returned on Monday afternoon while our Hercules made its first airlift of evacuees from Kabul on Tuesday.
MFAT said the “situation in Afghanistan deteriorating much faster than originally thought”. Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters overnight there was growing concern Islamic State could be plotting suicide bombings in the area around the airport.
