Several Afghan Air Force pilots, speaking from Afghanistan, described moving from house to house to avoid Taliban capture. They said they ran out of money and were afraid to look for work because they were afraid Taliban officials would discover them.
An Afghan Air Force major, who has been flying C-208s for eight years, said his relatives were confronted by the Taliban, who demanded to know his whereabouts. The major, who moved to a series of safe houses with his wife and four children, said Taliban fighters searched his home and questioned his mother.
“It’s very dangerous for us here,” the major said.
He said he had no access to anyone in the US government or military except for his former adviser in the US Air Force. “It seems we don’t matter anymore,” he said.
The Taliban said there is a general amnesty for any Afghan who served in the previous administration or worked with the US government or military. But many Afghan Air Force pilots… were assassinations carried out by the Taliban this year.
“They don’t have good options,” General Hicks said. “They are in danger of being stalked and killed.”
Basis He, who flew a C-208 and trained at a US air base in Texas, said he turned down an opportunity to fly to Tajikistan in August because he didn’t want to leave his family behind. Now he, his wife and their seven children are in hiding and lack money and food.
“Our lives are getting worse day by day,” the major said. “We cannot stay in one place. We are always hiding – even our relatives don’t know where we are.”
