Australia to close Afghanistan embassy over security fears

Morrison says embassy to shut this week because of the ‘increasingly uncertain security environment’.

Australia on Tuesday abruptly announced it will close its embassy in Afghanistan this week, expressing fears over the “increasingly uncertain security environment” in Kabul in the wake of the US decision to withdraw its troops from the war-torn country. The surprise decision comes a month after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the pullout of Australia’s 80 soldiers deployed as part of the NATO’s Resolute Support mission, which is involved in training and assisting the Afghan forces. The country ended its combat mission in 2013.  On Tuesday, the Australian prime minister said the facility would close as an “interim measure” on May 28 – in just three days – “in light of the imminent international military withdrawal from Afghanistan”.