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The
U.S. evacuated roughly 124,000 people from Kabul last month as
part of a huge U.S.-led airlift of its citizens, Afghans and
other nationals as the Taliban took control of the country.
Brigadier General Gerald Donohue told reporters some of those
who had been flown out of Qatar were now in the United States,
while others were in Europe, where they are being processed.
Many of the 1,400 still at Al Udeid base in Qatar are scheduled
to be flown out on Saturday, while a small group needing medical
care would stay until able to travel, he said.
Afghan and non-Afghan nationals had been flown to Al Udeid and
at the peak there were over 17,500 evacuees on the base at a
single point in time, the general said.
Nine babies were born at the base during the evacuation mission,
he added.
Following the scramble to evacuate vulnerable Afghans, thousands
of people, some with no documentation or pending U.S. visa
applications, others in families with mixed immigration
statuses, are now waiting in "transit hubs" in third countries.
Afghans must overcome bureaucratic immigration hurdles to
eventually enter the United States.
(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Mark Potter)
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