What now for the Afghanistan evacuation?

Politics explained: The operation will now focus on removing military and diplomatic staff who helped with the civilian phase, writes Jon Stone

The operation is now moving to a new phase (AP)

The last civilian UK rescue flight left Kabul airport on Saturday at the end of an operation that saw 14,000 people evacuated from the Taliban-controlled country.

But the operation isn’t over.

There will be more flights out of the city which will have diplomatic and military personnel onboard.

Many of the people on these coming flights were assisting with the evacuation of civilians, but now must leave themselves as the UK starts to wind up its presence in the country.

The deadline to remove all foreign forces from Afghanistan is 31 August, on Tuesday. Around 1,000 military, diplomatic and civilian personnel have worked on Operation Pitting in Kabul, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Shadow defence secretary John Healey has estimated that the UK may remove the rest of its force and officials in the next 24 hours – but this will depend on the situation on the ground.

Around 10,000 Afghan nationals who worked with UK forces and organisations have been evacuated under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy.

However, around 1,100 people eligible for the scheme are expected to have been left behind, according to defence secretary Ben Wallace.

Those still intent on fleeing the country may shift their focus to crossing the border over land, which will raise questions about safe travel corridors for refugees to the UK.