Ottawa faces calls to speed up Afghan rescues as special forces deploy to Kabul

Ottawa -

The Canadian government is facing calls to speed up its effort to save hundreds of former Afghan interpreters and their families as Western countries step up plans to evacuate Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

Canada is among those preparing to leave, with revelations the government is deploying special forces troops to help evacuate the embassy in Kabul as the Taliban have captured a growing number of provincial capitals.

Those revelations and the speed of the Taliban's advances have sparked alarm and confusion among already frustrated and desperate Canadian veterans who have been working tirelessly to help hundreds of Afghans who supported Canada over the years.

One of those calling for more urgency is retired major-general Denis Thompson, who commanded Canadian troops in Afghanistan in 2008-2009 and was one of three former two-star generals who wrote a letter last month urging Ottawa to save the interpreters.

Thompson told The Canadian Press on Friday that while he is grateful the government agreed last month to expedite the resettlement of Afghans who helped Canada, he was frustrated by the pace of the effort and the lack of information from officials.

"Yes, I'm a bit frustrated," he said. "I'm happy that they actually acted, and that there's a process in place. But that process needs to be considerably accelerated or we're really going to be faced with a disaster, which I don't think any Canadian would be willing to accept."

The federal government announced last week that the first flight carrying Afghan refugees to Canada had arrived in Toronto on board a C-17 military transport aircraft. Yet Ottawa has refused to say how many people were on board, or who they were.

Those involved in the grassroots effort to help former interpreters, translators, cultural advisers, drivers, cleaners and others, as well as their families, have also complained about the lack of transparency and about being essentially cut out of the effort by the government.

That is despite Canadian veterans and others having initially pressured the government to act, and the fact those veterans and groups have been in close contact with former comrades in Afghanistan who are now facing the threat of arrest or worse.

Thompson questioned not only the government's refusal to say how many people have been rescued, which stands in contrast to the more open approach in the United States and elsewhere, but its refusal to provide any information about what is going on now.

"There needs to be more communication with these legitimate Canadian organizations that are connected to the Afghans who supported us in Kandahar, Kabul and across the country so that we can communicate the plan to them and speed the process," Thompson said.

Global Affairs Canada refused on Friday to say whether the embassy in Kabul remained open, and officials there were still working on requests for help from Afghans in need."

"Canada continues to work with our international partners on contingency planning, including for the ongoing work on the implementation of the special immigration measures program," Global Affairs spokesman John Babcock said in a statement.

"The security of the Canadian embassy and the safety of our personnel in Kabul is our top priority. For security reasons we do not comment on specific operational matters of our missions abroad."

Late Friday afternoon, the federal government said several ministers including Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau would hold a news conference to announce additional measures to resettle Afghans who helped Canada.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters during a news conference that Canada was working with its allies, and would oppose any effort by the Taliban to take over as government by force.

"Our priority right now in Afghanistan, is supporting the brave Afghans who worked for Canada and to support Canadians and supporting the Canadians who are there," she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2021.