The evacuation of Kabul in August 2021 will go down in military history as one of the most unexpected events in modern times. In an eerie replay of the disastrous British retreat from Kabul in 1842, coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of military campaigning. The subsequent collapse of the Afghan government and its army shocked the world, as a resurgent Taliban gathered its forces and swept across the country. Thousands of Afghans who had worked with the allies were left to the meagre mercy of the Taliban.
As the Taliban went door-to-door to execute 'collaborators', a small international task force set out on a daring mission to evacuate as many Afghans and their families as possible. Drawing on a wide range of first-hand accounts — the politicians and officers who planned the trans-continental rescue, the young soldiers who were faced with the unenviable task of keeping a crowd of thousands of desperate people at bay, former interpreters, and soldiers of the Afghan Special Forces who made it out — Escape from Kabul is the harrowing true story of Operation Pitting and the Kabul airlift.
Levison Wood is an award-winning author, explorer and photographer, whose books and documentaries have won critical acclaim around the world.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks