Agency urges the U.S. to take more measures to evacuate people fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan

According to the Associated Press, a coalition of organizations helping Afghan citizens called on the United States to provide more assistance.

AfghanEvac Coalition members meet with the U.S. Secretary of State via video conference Anthony winked Discuss what the country needs to do for the fleeing Afghans Taliban rule. Although the members of the coalition expressed appreciation for the country’s efforts, they said there was more work to be done.

“The State Department is not doing enough; we need solutions from the entire government; we need the international community to stand up, and we need to act quickly,” said Peter Lucille, a former Marine Corps and U.S. team representative. “Winter is here. There is already a famine.”

AfghanEvac is made up of approximately 100 organizations, many of which are related to the veteran community. These alliances have been helping the Afghan people go abroad and help them settle in their new homes.Approximately 82,000 people arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan Department of Homeland SecurityThe Operation Allies Welcome program.

AfghanEvac said that many obstacles make it difficult for many Afghans to reach the United States or other countries. They said the United States needs more cooperation and pressure to expand its evacuation efforts.

“The answer is complicated,” Lucier said. “Many problems have no simple technical fixes.”

For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.

Since the withdrawal, the State Department has helped arrange a series of evacuation flights for American citizens and residents.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the conference call included discussions about what he called “our collective effort” to help visa holders and applicants, and to “promote the departure of those who are in the right stage.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, 10% are US citizens or permanent residents.

The rest are those who have obtained special immigrant visas, such as those who have served as translators or other statuses in the US government; those who have applied for one of these visas but have not yet received them; or other Afghans who may be vulnerable under Taliban rule, such as Journalists or government officials, and are eligible to come here as refugees. Nearly half are children.

As of November 15, the Department of Homeland Security stated that about 46,000 people are still being resettled in the country American armies Until they can be resettled by private refugee organizations across the country.Another 2,600 people stayed at the overseas transfer station, known as “water lilies” because they received safety and health checks before coming to the United States

The Afghan Evacuation Coalition urges the US government to build more “water lilies” and cooperate with other countries to create more safe passages for people. It is not clear how many people need to be evacuated, but the organization conservatively estimates the number to be tens of thousands. Aid agencies say that about 300,000 people have fled from Afghanistan to Iran, including many members of the Shia community, who sought to escape attacks by the Taliban and Islamic State branches in the country.

The meeting was held against the background of strong criticism from some people Republicans exist Congress, Attacking the frantic evacuation initiated by the president Donald TrumpThey decided to sign a peace agreement with the Taliban and set a date for their withdrawal. What they claim is that there is insufficient review of refugees. They also accused the government of underestimating the number of American citizens.

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote to Blinken on Monday seeking to interview more than 30 State Department officials to resolve what they called “many outstanding issues about planning before drawdown and withdrawal—or lack of planning.” These include the number of American citizens and residents still in Afghanistan and the mechanism for continuing evacuation.

Price said that as of Monday, since August 31, the United States has assisted 435 US citizens and 325 permanent residents to leave, including some of the most recent flights.

Brinken said on Friday that the United States has provided all American citizens and permanent residents who wish to leave Afghanistan with appropriate travel documents the opportunity to leave Afghanistan. Biden administration officials said that hundreds of Americans are still reported to remain in Afghanistan, but not all of them said they wanted to leave.

After the closure of the US Embassy in Kabul, Qatar, the Gulf state, has agreed to represent the United States in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and will handle consular services for American citizens in Afghanistan, and will handle routine official communications between Washington and the Taliban government.