Afghan evacuee detained in France over links to Taliban

One of the five Afghans, who were evacuated from Kabul to Paris, was detained on Tuesday on suspected links to the Taliban, France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The five Afghan evacuees were put under high surveillance by France’s intelligence agency for possible links to the Taliban. They were quarantined in a hotel in Paris, as they haven’t been fully vaccinated.

“One left the place where he was asked to stay and police arrested him,” local media quoted Darmanin as saying.

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“Of the other four men, one was obviously linked to the Taliban. But he helped the French army a lot, the French (nationals), your fellow journalists, more than a hundred Afghans who had visas and could not get out from the embassy,” he added.

Darmanin said security checks were done in Abu Dhabi, where the French have transferred evacuees before their journey to Paris. There was no breach, he said.

Darmanin said France has evacuated over 1,000 Afghans from Kabul over the past week, including a large majority of Afghans who worked with the French government or French groups in the country.

Meanwhile, a new flight of French evacuees from Kabul landed in Paris at dawn on Tuesday, with 205 evacuees on board, including 204 Afghans.

(With inputs from agencies)