MADRID, 28 (EUROPA PRESS)
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed on Tuesday the arrival in the United States for this week of the first Afghans who collaborated with US troops.
At a press conference, Psaki mentioned “that the first flight of Afghan applicants will arrive in the United States this week”, which he described as “a very exciting step forward and the first of many”.
Of the nearly 20,000 Afghans who work for the United States, in matters such as translation and other tasks, about 2,500 are expected to be evacuated to the North American country benefiting from the ‘special visa for immigrants’ (SIV, for its acronym in English), as mentioned State Department spokesman Ned Price last Tuesday.
Likewise, Price indicated that these Afghans will be transferred to a military base in Virginia while they complete the refugee admission program, a process that is led by a working group made up of experts from other departments in the country such as Defense.
Afghanistan has been plunged into an increase in violence in recent months, in which the Taliban have made important territorial advances, in the middle of the process of withdrawing international troops, which has generated concern in the international community about the apparent inability of the security forces to deal with the insurgents.
The advances of the Taliban, which have been made with border areas with Tajikistan and Iran, have also caused fears that they may take advantage of this position of force during the peace process with the Government of Afghanistan, launched as a result of the peace agreement signed. in February 2020 between the insurgents and the United States.