Prince Harry urges military veterans to ‘support one another’ amid Afghanistan takeover

Duke of Sussex previously served in British Army for 10 years and toured Afghanistan twice

Kate Ng
Tuesday 17 August 2021 08:46 BST
Comments
Prince Harry
Prince Harry (Getty)
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Duke of Sussex has issued a statement encouraging military veterans to support each other amid the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

Prince Harry, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and founded the Invictus Games sporting event for wounded former military personnel, released the joint statement with Dominic Reid, CEO of the games.

Shared on the Invictus Games Foundation’s Twitter account, the statement read: “What’s happening in Afghanistan resonates across the international Invictus community.

“Many of the participating nations and competitors in the Invictus Games family are bound by a shared experience of serving in Afghanistan over the past two decades, and for several years, we have competed alongside Invictus Games Team Afghanistan.

“We encourage everybody across the Invictus network – and the wider military community – to reach out to each other and offer support for one another.”

Harry served in the British Army for 10 years, becoming the first royal in more than 25 years to serve in a war zone. In 2013, he spoke about his experience shooting at Taliban insurgents during his time as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.

The following year, he founded the Invictus Games, an international competition for injured ex-service personnel.

Harry said the games are aimed at harnessing “the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country”.

The Taliban seized control of the capital city of Kabul on Sunday, two weeks before the US is set to complete its withdrawal of troops from the country.

Thousands of Afghans are trying to flee the country, with many fearing the reimposition of harsh Islamic law the Taliban relied on when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in