Australia Shutters Embassy In Afghanistan, Sparking Exodus Fears

Announcing the embassy closure earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was an "increasingly uncertain security environment".

Australia was due Friday to shut its embassy in Afghanistan, highlighting the security fears for foreign missions and their local workers as US-led troops pull out of the war-torn country. With President Joe Biden's September 11 deadline looming, nations are weighing how they might operate without the security blanket provided by US and NATO forces, while scrambling to work out what to do with thousands of Afghan staff who fear being marked as collaborators by the Taliban. Kabul-based political analyst Sayed Nasir Musawi, told AFP he expected more foreign missions to close shop in coming months. "Western countries are not fully sure about the continuation and survival of the incumbent government," he said.