1ST EVACUATION FLIGHT LANDS IN U.S., BRINGING 221 AFGHANS TO THEIR NEW HOME
WASHINGTON: The first flight evacuating Afghans who worked alongside Americans in Afghanistan brought more than 200 people to resettlement in the US on Friday, including scores of children and babies in arms, wriggling in the plane’s seats.
The evacuation flights, bringing out former interpreters and others who fear retaliation from Afghanistan’s Taliban for having worked with American servicemembers and civilians, highlight American uncertainty about how Afghanistan’s government and military will fare after the last US combat forces leave that country in the coming weeks.
Family members are accompanying the interpreters and others on the flights out.
The airliner carrying the 221 Afghans in the special visa programme, including 57 children and 15 babies, according to an internal US government document obtained by The Associated Press, touched down at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, according to the commercial FlightAware tracking service.
“This flight represents the fulfilment of the U.S. commitment and honours these Afghans’ brave service in helping support our mission in Afghanistan” and “in turn, helping to keep our country safe”, Russ Travers, senior deputy homeland security adviser at the National Security Council, told reporters on Thursday as the Afghan families were en route.
The Biden administration calls the effort Operation Allies Refuge. The operation has broad backing from Republican and Democratic lawmakers and from veterans groups. Supporters cite repeated instances of Taliban forces targeting Afghans who worked with Americans or with the Afghan government.