Woman who fled Afghanistan as a child urges UK not to 'abandon the country'

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A woman who fled Afghanistan as a child and has family living in areas overrun by the Taliban has urged the British government not to abandon the country.

Arifa Aminy, who lives in Dartford, said vulnerable Afghan people needed help after the Taliban captured the capital Kabul.

She said many had lived under the Taliban before and didn't want to go through it again.

"Everyone is trying to get out of the country," Arifa told ITV News London.

"They have lived in a Taliban situation and they don't want to experience that situation again and that's why they are trying to leave at any cost," she added.

On Monday the Defence Secretary admitted the UK would be unable to evacuate everyone from Afghanistan who needs to leave.

Taliban fighter sits on the back of a vehicle with a machine gun in front of the main gate leading to the Presidential Palace in Kabul Credit: AP

British forces are scrambling to evacuate British citizens still in the country and native allies who worked with the UK during its occupation of Afghanistan, but many of those based outside the capital Kabul will be stranded, Ben Wallace has said.

"The most vulnerable people are women and children who are now displaced - they don't know what the future is going to bring them," Arifa said.

"The main thing the government in the UK can do is make sure other countries don't abandon Afghanistan.

"We need help in Afghanistan for women and children. They should urge the next government in Afghanistan to consider women's rights," she added.

300 people were evacuated on Sunday night and the government was aiming to fly out a further 1,500 people over the next 24 to 36 hours or slightly longer.