He came out among the first of the Air Force’s A330 Phénix on the evening of Wednesday August 18 on the tarmac at Roissy. Thibaud Agbotsoka-Guiter, a 38-year-old humanitarian from Angers (Maine-et-Loire), was on the list of 216 passengers, including 184 Afghans, exfiltrated from Kabul at dawn, after a night spent crossing in slow motion the Afghan capital, under the control of the Taliban since August 15.
Relieved, after four days reclusive between the walls of the French embassy with seventy other people, including five French, two Kenyans and a majority of Afghans. All under the care of eleven men from the RAID.
Thibaud Agbotsoka-Guiter had only been in the country since July 31, assigned as head of the mental health department on behalf of a non-governmental organization (which does not wish to be cited). “A first attempt at exfiltration was to take place on Monday morning, he recounts. We were told to regroup around 5:30 am but the American helicopters did not come. They had been the target of fire during the night and given the angle of the tracer bullets, it probably came from the presidential palace taken by the Taliban. “
The way out is near
After Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on Monday evening, he believed that the time had come to decamp when, around midnight, the men of the RAID came to look for them. “They woke us up to put us on an armored bus. And then we heard: “We cancel the operation, the Elysee just called. The President of the Republic has decided to cancel.” We went back to bed. “
The following day, Tuesday, is, however, very calm, even around the embassy. “We could hear a few gunshots outside but we didn’t know if it was bonfire, thieves attacking houses or the Taliban shooting at someone. “ In the courtyard of the embassy, where various rumors deceive boredom, the outcome is nevertheless near.
“At around 8 pm, the men from the RAID told us ‘We’re gone.’ We only took our bags, the big suitcases were left behind. “ In the garden of the embassy, they are joined by several dozen Afghans and get on a procession of buses. “Maybe three minutes after leaving the embassy, we leave the ‘green zone’, there are hundreds of Afghans gathered in front of the foreign representations of countries which have promised to welcome Afghan nationals to their homes. We were immediately stopped at a checkpoint. The armed Taliban surround the bus and the argument goes on and on. It is very hot, there is no air conditioning in this armored bus and it is impossible to open the windows. There are screaming babies. It’s cacophony. “
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