Dutch foreign minister resigns

Dutch Foreign Minister Zigrid Kaag submitted her resignation from the government on Thursday, after a majority of parliamentarians ruled that she had mismanaged the evacuation of refugees from Afghanistan last month.

Lawmakers from all parties blamed the KGB for the government's delayed response to the Taliban advance and for failing to prepare for the safe flight of thousands of Afghans entitled to asylum in the Netherlands.

"Parliament has decided that the cabinet acted irresponsibly. The minister should leave if her policy is rejected," Kaag said.

Dutch warplanes evacuated about 2,100 people from Afghanistan, transporting them to neighboring countries in the second half of August.

But hundreds of Dutch nationals - many of Afghan descent - and an unknown number of Afghans who had worked for the Dutch military mission, the media or non-governmental organizations were left behind as they failed to reach the airport.

Kaag was the UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon from 2015-17 and had previously led an international team overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal.