US commander, ambassador were last to board evacuation flight: general

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson speaks during an interview with AFP at the US Embassy in Kabul on May 18, 2021. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The commander of American military forces on the ground in Afghanistan and Washington’s ambassador there were the last to board the final evacuation flight from Kabul on Monday, the head of US Central Command said.

“On the last airplane out was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and my ground force commander there,” McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon.

“And he was accompanied by Ambassador Ross Wilson.”

McKenzie said they were the last on the ground at Kabul airport as the United States completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“The State and Defense team were, in fact, the last people to step on the airplane,” the general said.

© Agence France-Presse