Dutch Foreign Minister Kaag quits over Afghan refugee crisis

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag resigned on Thursday, after a majority of parliament said she had mishandled the evacuation of refugees from Afghanistan last month.

Members of parliament from across the political spectrum said Kaag bore responsibility for the government's slow response to the surge of the Taliban and for failing to prepare the safe passage of thousands of Afghans who could have been eligible for asylum in the Netherlands.

"Your chamber has decided the Cabinet acted irresponsibly," Kaag said. "The minister must go if her policy has been rejected."

Dutch military planes evacuated around 2,100 people from Afghanistan to neighbouring countries in the last two weeks of August, and almost 1,700 of them had the Netherlands as their final destination.