Welcome awaits Afghan refugees
South Lanarkshire could be set to welcome refugees fleeing from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Up to 20,000 Afghans could seek asylum in the UK under a scheme to be set up by the UK Government.
South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) have said they have a “proud record of assisting refugees” and are awaiting “further information and proposals” from Westminster.
Taliban forces took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to end a four-month offensive across the country following the withdrawal of western troops.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned “hundreds of thousands” of people are fleeing the situation in Afghanistan because of “serious human rights violations”.
In response to the situation in Afghanistan, a spokesman for SLC said: “South Lanarkshire has a proud record of assisting refugees and our neighbourhoods welcomed dozens of families who fled Syria.
“The situation in Afghanistan clearly has escalated rapidly and we await further information and proposals from the government.”
Since 2015, more than 170 Syrian refugees were re-homed in the region following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.
It is understood that COSLA leaders agreed in May to support the UK Humanitarian Programme that was anticipated in terms of people expected to leave Afghanistan.
COSLA are co-ordinating the Afghan Relocation scheme for Scotland which is expected to be very different to the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Programme due to the time scales involved.
A few councils in Scotland are unable to participate, while others are already understood to have offered “a large number of properties”.
In 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan with support from a number of countries including the UK, Australia and Canada in response to the September 11 attacks.
They sought to deny al-Qaeda a safe base in the country by removing the Taliban from power.
More than 200,000 people were killed in the 20-year conflict, including 456 British troops.