London, Aug 16 (AP) British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace held back tears as he conceded that Britain was unlikely to be able to evacuate all its Afghan allies from Kabul.

Speaking on Monday via webcam on LBC Radio, Wallace said it was a “really deep part of regret for me” that not all Afghans eligible to come to the UK will be able to do so during the current evacuation drive.

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In addition to the 4,000 or so UK nationals in Afghanistan, Britain is processing claims of Afghan citizens, such as interpreters, who have helped in the 20 years since first arrived following the 9/11 attacks.

A visibly emotional Wallace, a former captain in the Scots Guard, said that Britain will in the future “have to do our best in third countries to process those people.”

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Asked why he felt the situation “so personally,” Wallace said it was because he was a soldier and “because it's sad and the West has done what it's done, and we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations and 20 years of sacrifice is what it is”. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)