Afghanistan crisis: UAE to temporarily shelter 5,000 Afghan refugees

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5000 Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan on their way to third countries. The UAE officials added that the Afghan evacuees would arrive in the UAE on US aircraft in the upcoming days.

Representational Image (Credits: Reuters)

New Delhi: The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Friday (August 20, 2021) said it will temporarily host 5,000 Afghan citizens evacuated from the country following the seizure of Kabul by the Taliban Islamist movement.

"The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5000 Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan on their way to third countries. The UAE`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced that, following a request from the United States, it would host the Afghans on a temporary basis, after which time they would travel on to other nations," the ministry said in a statement on late Friday.

The UAE officials added that the Afghan evacuees would arrive in the UAE on US aircraft in the upcoming days.

The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, which resulted in the collapse of the US-backed government. Internationally-Recognized Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country for the UAE. The seizure of power has forced thousands of Afghans to seek escape from the country for fear of reprisals from the militants. 

A few days earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani posted a video on his Facebook handle defending his decision to flee Kabul in the face of the Taliban advance, describing it as the only way to prevent bloodshed.

Ghani also denied claims made by his country's diplomat that he had stolen USD 169 million from state funds before fleeing the country and confirmed that he was in the United Arab Emirates.

In the video message, Afghan President detailed his escape from the Taliban and said he was "forced to leave Afghanistan with one set of traditional clothes, a vest and the sandals I was wearing. I was evacuated in a condition where I couldn’t even put on my shoes,"

(With ANI inputs)