Croatia should secure the evacuation of its citizens from Afghanistan, but also support international protection for refugees fleeing the country, as should all members of NATO who have deployed their military forces there, the left-wing Mozemo party said on Tuesday.

“Since our military was present in Afghanistan, a share of responsibility lays on Croatia as well. Regardless, we cannot turn our backs on all those in Afghanistan who have tried to build a democracy there,” the party wrote on Facebook.

“Nearly 20 years ago, Western allies decided to intervene in Afghanistan to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and introduce democracy in the country. What followed were military interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria, often supported by suspicious motives and falsified evidence. All these interventions have been failures – they caused more problems than they solved,” Mozemo said. “Many lives were lost, many families displaced, entire societies and cultural heritage wiped out, economies devastated.”

“20 years ago, many were warning that these interventions were pointless, but military doctrine of the so-called war on terror was louder than peace efforts. Although Al-Qaeda was destroyed, new terrorist organisations were formed, many of these countries are falling apart, and we have witnessed one of the biggest refugee waves into Europe after WWII,” they said.

The least Croatia can do now is secure evacuation of Croatian nationals from Afghanistan and push for international protection of Afghan refugees, the party said.