UNICEF trying to reunite evacuated Afghan children with families

[September 07, 2021]   ENEVA (Reuters) - UNICEF is trying to reunite hundreds of Afghan children who were separated from their families and evacuated to various countries during the hurried U.S. withdrawal from the country, the U.N. agency said on Tuesday.

A father and children evacuees from Afghanistan leave a U.S. C-17 Globemaster transport plane after arriving at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, August 24, 2021. U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Ryan Brooks/Handout via REUTERS.

Hundreds of children were separated in the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport and UNICEF is trying to get them back together with their families, spokesperson James Elder told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.

"They have gone to a range of countries and we are working with those governments where children have arrived without family support," he said, adding that more than 100 of the children are back with family members.

Dramatic footage last month showed a small girl lifted up over the high perimeter wall of the airport and passed into the hands of an American soldier. It was not clear whether the girl was reunited with her family within the airport.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Emma Thomasson)

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