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Operation Pitting
| Operation Pitting | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 2021 Kabul airlift, the 2021 Taliban offensive and the War in Afghanistan | |
 British, American, and Turkish soldiers assist an Afghan child outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul | |
| Type | Non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) |
| Location | |
| Objective | Evacuation of British nationals, embassy staff and eligible Afghans |
| Date | 13 August 2021 – 28 August 2021 |
| Executed by |  United Kingdom |
| Outcome | Over 15,000 eligible Afghans and British nationals successfully evacuated[1] |
Operation Pitting was a British military operation to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban offensive. The operation consisted of more than 1,000 military personnel, including soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade.[2][3][4][5] It ran concurrently with the evacuation efforts of numerous other countries.
Over 15,000 people were airlifted to safety on more than 100 flights in the largest British evacuation since the Second World War and the largest airlift since the Berlin Blockade of 1948–9. Of those evacuated, 5,000 were British nationals and 8,000 were Afghans who were vulnerable to persecution by the Taliban due to their role in assisting British forces during Operation Herrick (2002–2014). Around 2,200 evacuees were children, with the youngest just one day old.[1]
The evacuation implemented commitments made by the British government under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), which began in April 2021. In total, 10,000 eligible Afghans were evacuated under ARAP through to the end of Operation Pitting.
The operation marked the end of the UK's 20-year military occupation in Afghanistan.[6]
- ^ a b Total evacuated:
- "Fears for Afghans 'abandoned to Taliban' as final UK troops pulled out of Kabul". ITV News. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- Rao, Ganesh (30 August 2021). "How many people have been evacuated from Afghanistan?". Sky News. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- Bowden, George; Wright, Katie. "Afghanistan: British ambassador home as last UK troops leave". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
1000BAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "In Pictures: the UK Armed Forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport". Medium. Ministry of Defence. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ Kraemer, Daniel (23 August 2021). "Afghanistan: Why can't the UK hold Kabul airport without the US?". BBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
The UK has more than 1,000 at the airport, including the Army's 16 Air Assault Brigade.
- ^ "Military operation established to support the drawdown of British nationals from Afghanistan". GOV.UK. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
end20was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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