UK to host 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan
London, Aug 18 (EFE).- The United Kingdom will take in 20,000 Afghan refugees in the coming years, British home secretary Priti Patel said Wednesday, following the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan.
The move comes as part of a new scheme launched to protect those who are at risk of persecution from the Taliban.
The Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will see 5,000 refugees arrive in the country in the first year, with priority given to women, girls, children, and those most in need, according to Patel.
This program is in addition to the current one in place for interpreters who assisted the British forces in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.
“We have an enduring commitment to the Afghan people, and we will honour it,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter. “A new resettlement scheme will create a safe and legal route for those in most need to come and live safely in the UK.”
The British parliament is set to be recalled from its summer recess to address the situation in Afghanistan Wednesday, with Johnson opening up the debate in the House of Commons.
On Tuesday, Johnson spoke on the phone with US President Joe Biden and agreed to continue working together in the coming days and months to allow as many people as possible to leave Afghanistan, according to a spokesperson from Downing Street.
“The prime minister stressed the importance of not losing the gains made in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, of protecting ourselves against any emerging threat from terrorism and of continuing to support the people of Afghanistan,” said the spokesperson.EFE
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