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Scottish charity fears female Afghan staff 'left to wolves'

Linda Norgrove Foundation Linda NorgroveLinda Norgrove Foundation
The Linda Norgrove Foundation was set up in memory of a Scots aid worker killed in Afghanistan

A Scottish charity has made a desperate appeal for help in getting its two female staff in Afghanistan to safety.

The Linda Norgrove Foundation was set up in memory of a Scots aid worker killed in Afghanistan in 2010.

The charity said its workers, who are sisters and of an ethnic community at risk of persecution by the Taliban, were in a" very vulnerable position".

It has asked MPs and UK government ministers for help in getting the women evacuated from Kabul.

The UK, US and other countries have been evacuating people following the Taliban's return to power almost 20 years of a US-led coalition's presence in Afghanistan.

A deadline for the evacuation of foreign nationals is set for 31 August, but there have been international calls for an extension beyond that date.

The Taliban has said it is "not in favour" of allowing Afghans to leave and has told them not to go to Kabul airport.

The Western Isles-based Linda Norgrove Foundation was set up by Linda's parents John and Lorna to help Afghan women and girls.

Linda Norgrove's mother Lorna has previously spoken of her hopes and fears for Afghan women

The Norgroves said they feared for the safety of its two staff members because they are women and Hazara, an ethnic community previously targeted for attacks by the Taliban.

Their statement said: "We see photographs of planes full of evacuees and, guess what, almost all of them are men. It is men who have created this mess but it is the women who will be left behind to pick up the pieces.

"It's women who are going to suffer most under the Taliban, Hazaras who are at risk of persecution, but it looks like our two women, who have been so committed to helping young Afghan women get a life of their own, are going to be left to the wolves."

Reuters EvacuationReuters
A deadline for the evacuation of people who want to leave Afghanistan has been set for 31 August

Linda, 36, from Lewis, was overseeing a USAID project set up to create jobs and support economies in fragile areas of Afghanistan.

She was kidnapped in Kunar on 26 September 2010 and died in an attempted rescue by US special forces on 8 October that year.

A joint UK and US investigation found that she was killed by a grenade thrown by one of the American soldiers.