US received 24,000 Afghans at risk after Taliban takeover: Spokesperson
Sep 02, 2021
Washington DC [US], September 2 (ANI/Sputnik): The United States has taken in almost 24,000 Afghans at risk as part of evacuations from Afghanistan, Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said.
"Since August 17th and through August 31st at midnight Eastern time, 31,107 people have arrived at - to the U.S. as part of this operation. So of that subset - which, of course, is just a small subset of the 124,000 - we understand that about 14 percent are U.S. citizens, or 4,446; about 9 percent are LPRs [legal permanent residents], 2,785; and the remaining 77 percent - 23,876 individuals - are Afghans at risk," Price told a press briefing on Wednesday.
In total, 124,000 people were brought to the US or to third countries from Afghanistan before America completed its troop withdrawal on August 30. "Closer to 100" US legal permanent residents still remain in Afghanistan, willing to evacuate, according to Price.
Afghan refugees are hosted at US military bases, which are ready to accommodate 50,000 people.
The Taliban (a terrorist group, banned in Russia) entered Kabul on August 15, ending a weeks-long offensive and causing the civilian government to fall. The development has forced thousands of Afghans who worked with Western countries to seek escape. (ANI/Sputnik)
