Canada ‘working tirelessly’ to evacuate citizens from Kabul

Another 121 Afghan nationals, Canadian citizens and family members have left Kabul on a rescue flight — Canada’s third evacuation mission since the Taliban overtook the Afghan capital.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says as long as it’s safe, Canada will continue working toward getting people out of the chaos.

Sajjan says the security conditions in Kabul are changing rapidly, but Canadian personnel are doing everything in their power to get people to safety.

He says continued crowding and violence around the Kabul airport is posing a major challenge for efforts to get more flights out, noting security conditions are changing by the hour.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for “urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan.”

Johnson revealed the plan in a statement posted on Twitter.

He says it’s “vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.”

The U.K. holds this year’s presidency of the G7 nations, which is also made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

There was no immediate word from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s camp on whether he would take time away from the election campaign to attend the meeting.

Trudeau has faced criticism in recent days for not acting fast enough to evacuate Afghans who supported Canada’s military and diplomatic efforts in the war-torn country.