Sept 13, 2021: Pilots trained by the United States in Afghanistan that have been held in a camp in Uzbekistan for about a month started leaving the country on Sunday, despite the Taliban’s demands for them to return

According to one of the pilots, the US-trained pilots in Afghanistan, who had been held in an Uzbek camp for about a month, began leaving the country on Sunday despite demands from the Taliban to return.

According to a news report initially shared by Reuters, the first group is going to the UAE, at least initially, the pilot said on condition of anonymity. The transition was expected to take place in several waves, starting Sunday and ending the next day or so.

The US State Department and the Uzbek mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters news agency had previously revealed tensions in the Uzbek camp, with pilots feared to be sent back to Afghanistan and killed by the Taliban. The Taliban have said they will not retaliate after taking control of the country in August.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to the 46 planes, including A-29 light attack planes and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, pilots who flew to neighboring Uzbekistan after the ground forces fell and the Taliban came to power.

Former US Ambassador to Uzbekistan John Herbst praised the US evacuation efforts, saying the United States owes it to Afghan pilots. “I hope we have plans to make sure that the plane they left is returned to the United States and certainly not to the Taliban,” he said.

The Taliban did not respond to a request for comment on the Uzbek situation. The group seized planes, including helicopters and drones, as Afghan forces melted away last month, and has demanded the return of planes flying out of the country before its fighters seized power in Kabul.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have said they will invite former military personnel to join the country’s renewed security forces and will not be harmed.

In the Uzbek camp near the city of Termez, the Afghan pilots felt like prisoners, with extremely limited mobility, and inadequate food and medicine.

Hopes began to rise about a week ago when US officials arrived for biometric screening of Afghan pilots – many of whom fled with only clothes on their backs.

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