Uganda to host Afghan aides of US forces
Gen Kenneth F. McKenzie, the Commander of US Central Command (2nd right, standing) arrives at Hamid Karza airport in Afghanistan on Tuesday. PHOTO | AFP
Majority of the Afghan asylum seekers due to be evacuated to Uganda helped the US and its Western allies during the 20-year war, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) boss, Mr Filippo Grandi, has said.
Mr Grandi, speaking to the BBC World Service’s international current affairs radio programme, Newsday, yesterday said the UN refugee body is more “concerned by people with legitimate fears” and remain trapped inside Afghanistan, after after Taliban fighters, deposed by the American troops two decades ago, ousted Ashraf Ghani’s government and bounced back to power at the weekend.
“These (going to Uganda) are mostly people that have been working with US servicemen and US forces in Afghanistan...they are being evacuated by the US to different parts of the world and the same is being done by other countries (US allies),” he said.
Mr Grandi implored the international community to do more to assist Afghanistan’s 40 million people, majority of whom he said cannot or don’t want to leave their country while others don’t have means to if they wanted.
Uganda, a key Washington ally in the restive Great Lakes region, is among the countries that US President Joe Biden administration courted to offer haven to some 2,000 Afghan asylum seekers.
Following Tuesday’s hasty leak of the US request, which sources say angered President Museveni, and the ensuing public relations turmoil, the government yesterday remained tight-lipped on the matter.
Ms Esther Anyakun, the minister of State for Refugees, told Daily Monitor last evening that they are on standby to receive the Afghans.
“The American embassy confirmed that they are going to bring them, but they have not given the numbers but the planning is still ongoing. For us we are ready,” Ms Anyakun said.
Asked whether government has decided on a location where they will be hosted, she said: “They are going to first give us categories and then we shall plan which one can be put where. If there are big people (VIPs) those can stay in hotels, and others can be taken to camps.”
Other countries courted by Washington to temporarily offer haven to Afghans are Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia, which said it will take in 450 Afghans by end of the week.
The Taliban fighters barrelled to power with limited resistance, capturing Kabul with ease to the world’s surprise, prompting the US to lead evacuation of trapped local allies and other fleeing citizens
Uganda expected to receive the first Afghan arrivals of about 500 on Monday night, but they did not land for unexplained reasons.
The US embassy in Kampala told this newspaper that “discussions with the Ugandan government are ongoing and they have “not yet made a final determination of assistance requirements in Uganda.”
In their first official press conference on Tuesday since grabbing power on Sunday, the Taliban promise, among others, women’s rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials.
But the US Department of State in a statement yesterday co-signed by Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, European Union, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal, Switzerland, and the UK , said they are deeply worried about Afghan women and girls, their rights to education, work and freedom of movement.
“We will monitor closely how any future government ensures rights and freedoms that have become an integral part of the life of women and girls in Afghanistan during the last 20 years,” the statement indicated.
Racing against time
The US Department of Defence (DoD) on Tuesday said securing Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and evacuating Americans and Afghans with special immigration visas is currently its major focus.DoD officials said they were racing against time to speed up the evacuations, planning one flight per hour out of Kabul, which could see some between 5,000 and 9,000 people moved per day. By yesterday, US media reported that, DoD had only evacuated about 2,000 Afghan allies and their families — a fraction of the 88,000 who are estimated to have applied for US visas.
