BUCHAREST, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Romanian military plane returned here on Saturday from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, bringing back 15 Romanian nationals and four Bulgarian citizens.
In a press statement, President Klaus Iohannis stressed that the authorities will continue the efforts to evacuate Romanian citizens who are still in Afghanistan and who want to be repatriated.
The president noted that Romania will also provide evacuation assistance to Afghan citizens who had supported the activity of Romanian military in Afghanistan over the years, as well as those benefiting from the Romanian state scholarships.
According to him, over 30 Romanian citizens were evacuated in the previous days with the aircraft of other NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members.
The Romanian Air Force sent the C-130 Hercules aircraft to Afghanistan on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens, most of whom work for a security company there.
Romania first sent its military personnel to Afghanistan in 2002, and since then 27 of its soldiers have lost their lives in combat, while about 200 have been injured.