More details on how Afghanistan’s former president fled the country in a helicopter with $169million in cash has emerged.
Ashraf Ghani said he left on Sunday night because he wanted to avoid bloodshed, as the Taliban closed in on the capital Kabul.
He has been given asylum on humanitarian grounds in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
Ghani tried to fit as much as possible in the helicopter but had to leave some behind on the tarmac as there wasn’t enough room.
He also took with him four cars stuffed with money, according to a Russian Embassy spokesperson.
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Ghani reportedly flew to Tajikistan, but was diverted to Oman after officials refused permission to land, before travelling on to Dubai.
At the time Russia said it would maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and develop ties with the Taliban, even if it hasn’t yet recognised the militant group as Afghanistan’s rulers.
Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the embassy, said: ‘As for the collapse of the regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan.
‘Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac’.
President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was unclear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind.