Canada to accept 5,000 Afghan refugees evacuated by U.S.
Posted August 31, 2021 9:12 am.
Last Updated August 31, 2021 2:47 pm.
Canada has announced a plan to take in thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated by the United States.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Tuesday that 5,000 people who supported Canada’s military efforts over the years-long war will soon be resettled in country.
“As refugees who supported our efforts look to move to surrounding countries we will work in close partnership,” says Mendicino.
The refugees have already been evacuated out of Afghanistan by U.S. forces and taken to other countries in the Middle East and Europe.
Mendocino confirmed that 3,700 people were rescued by the Canadian mission that ended last week as hundreds of stranded Afghans are still awaiting approval of their applications for passage to Canada.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau, who appeared alongside Mendicino, revealed that hundreds of Canadians remain in Afghanistan.
“We estimate that at the moment there are roughly 1,250 either Canadian citizens or permanent residents or family members that are in Afghanistan,” says Garneau.
Neither Garneau nor Mendicino had clear answers about the fate of those who have been left behind.
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There are no more foreign troops in Afghanistan for the first time since 2001 and many Afghans are now left in limbo with the Taliban taking control of the Kabul airport.
The Taliban triumphantly marched into the airport on Tuesday, hours after the final U.S. troop withdrawal that ended America’s longest war. Standing on the tarmac, Taliban leaders pledged to secure the country, quickly reopen the airport and grant amnesty to former opponents.
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to give an address Tuesday afternoon on the aftermath of the Afghanistan war.
