Rhineland-Palatinate, Ramstein-Miesenbach: People evacuated from Afghanistan stand in front of tents at Ramstein Air Base. (Photo by Uwe Anspach/Photo Union via Getty Images)
An American general said on Saturday that the United States has transferred most of the more than 57,000 people he evacuated from Afghanistan from the Gulf countries to Qatar. Some of them are now in the United States, while others are being processed in Europe.
Last month, when the Taliban took control of Kabul, approximately 124,000 people were evacuated from Kabul by large-scale airlifts of American and other foreign citizens and vulnerable Afghans led by the United States.
Many of them, including some who did not have documents or were applying for US visas, were evacuated through military bases in the Middle East, including Udeid in Doha, Qatar.
Brigadier General Gerald Donohue told reporters that there are now less than 1,400 evacuees on the base, many of whom are scheduled to take off on Saturday, and a small number of people in need of medical care will stay before they can travel.
It is not clear how many people are currently in the United States or Europe, and there is an unspecified number at a base near Qatar.
Donohue said that there were more than 17,500 evacuees in Al Udeid, adding that the evacuees gave birth to 9 babies.
After the emergency evacuation of vulnerable Afghans, thousands of people are now waiting at “transit hubs” in third countries. Some of them are undocumented or are applying for US visas, while others are families with mixed immigration status.
Afghans must overcome immigration barriers to finally enter the United States.
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