On Friday, the United Kingdom announced the release of $41 million in assistance to help neighboring countries cope with the influx of migrants leaving Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power.
British Government To Pay Millions of Pounds
In a recently published article in MSN News, the British government said that ten million pounds will be made available immediately to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations to assist with border shelters and sanitation.
British foreign minister Dominic Raab said it is important that the United Kingdom assists people leaving Afghanistan and does not allow the country's problems to jeopardize regional security. Additionally, the rest of the money will be used to offer critical services and supplies to countries that have experienced large numbers of refugees.
According to the UNHCR, up to half a million Afghans may leave their country by the end of the year. Many Afghans are reported to be fleeing to Pakistan while Tajikistan, one of Afghanistan's neighbors, has promised to take in 100,000 refugees, U.S. News reports.
EU Plans To Offer Cash for Countries That Will Accept Afghan Refugees
EU nations pledged on Tuesday to provide an undisclosed amount of money to Afghanistan's neighbors to help them deal with the refugee problem at their borders. However, they postponed talks on the EU's role in possibly admitting asylum seekers, expressing concerns over a "pull effect" that might attract more people.
EU interior ministers approved a document in Brussels pledging financial assistance to relevant international organizations and Afghanistan's surrounding countries to strengthen their capacity to offer refugee protection, dignified and safe reception circumstances, and a sustainable livelihood, according to a published article in POLITICO.
Furthermore, EU ministers and the European Commission were unable to say how much money they would give to Afghanistan's neighbors, Pakistan and Iran, citing the "ongoing" nature of talks. According to one EU official, the idea was to give up to €1 billion to neighboring nations.
How Many Afghans Were Evacuated and Where are they Going?
In a published article in BBC News, the present issue of refugees adds to the 2.2 million Afghans who are already living in neighboring countries and the 3.5 million Afghans compelled to leave their homes inside the country's boundaries.
The US-led air evacuation operation is officially complete, with the last aircraft departing Kabul airport just after midnight on Tuesday, the Taliban-agreed deadline for Western troops to leave. After the Taliban seized control of the city on August 14, the U.S. troops and coalition allies evacuated more than 123,000 people, but it is unknown how many of them were Afghan citizens.
According to the U.S., over 80,000 people were flown out of Kabul, with roughly 5,500 of them being Americans and more than 73,500 being Afghans or other foreign nationalities. While the UK Ministry of Defense claimed it had flown out more than 15,000 individuals, 8,000 of them were Afghans, the evacuations stopped on Saturday.
Moreover, many of those flown out of the country were transported to emergency processing centers set up in Spain, Germany, Qatar, and Uzbekistan, among other nations. According to the International Rescue Committee, up to 300,000 Afghans have been associated with U.S. activities in the country since 2001, and tens of thousands of people are qualified for a U.S. visa but many will now have to find another way out.
