Staff In Afghanistan Have Been Told Destroy Sensitive Material, Evacuate Embassy

A memo obtained by NPR, lays out the emergency preparations being made at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to leave the country.

Most will be evacuated by 3,000 US troops on their way to Kabul to ensure a safe and orderly departure. The Embassy will be evacuated and a very small consular staff will work in Kabul.

The embassy staffers were instructed to destroy sensitive documents and desktop computers before they leave.

Staff without consular experience are being asked to depart by the end of this month. They are being instructed to destroy documents, computers and other sensitive equipment.

Charge d'Affaires Ross Wilson, the acting ambassador, is also meeting his counterparts in other embassies and updating them on the situation.

The U.S. has also called on the Taliban not to attack the embassy and departing US diplomats. The Embassy also employs many Afghan workers. Their future was not immediately clear.

Afghan government control is rapidly shrinking limited mostly to Kabul and the eastern parts of the country.

This story originally ran on the Morning Edition live blog. [Copyright 2021 NPR]