JAKARTA - More than 1,100 Afghans who claim to have worked with the United States forces are still trapped in Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, after the Donald Trump administration froze the relocation program.
The Wall Street Journal reported that US officials said Washington was negotiating with at least three countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia to resettle the group after the deadline for the closure of the former US military base on March 31 passed.
The facility costs more than 10 million US dollars per month, while the Qatari government urges it to be closed immediately. The morale of the residents is reportedly declining sharply as the visa decision is uncertain.
"When deadlines pass without explanation or follow-up, that hope turns to despair," said Shawn VanDiver of Afghan Evac, adding that many of them are now "like prisoners of bureaucratic incompetence."
Several US lawmakers have also urged immediate action. "We cannot turn a blind eye to them," Senator Jeanne Shaheen said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Wednesday, April 8.
He warned they risked Taliban retribution if repatriated.
State Department spokesman Antony Blinken blamed the Biden administration for the situation being the result of "a chaotic and poorly managed withdrawal from Afghanistan."
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