51 evacuees from Afghanistan arrive in Uganda

Kampala, August 25 (EFE). – This Wednesday, the government of Uganda confirmed the arrival of 51 “evacuees from Afghanistan”, including women, men and children, who were temporarily welcomed at the request of the United States.

“This event comes after the Ugandan authorities accepted a proposal from the United States government to temporarily host Afghans and people at risk of other nationalities,” said a press release issued by the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued this morning.

In that statement, the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the “long and friendly bilateral relations” between the East African country and the US government “for the benefit of both parties”.

The Ugandan authorities noted, however, that the newly arrived Afghans were “on their way” and that their final destination “would be the United States or other countries”, but did not specify how long they would remain in the African country.

The text also notes that although some Ugandans were arranged to be evacuated on this flight, difficulties in reaching Kabul airport prevented this, and the government of the African country is preparing for their departure on future planes.

On August 17, the Minister of State for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Esther Anyakon, confirmed to Efe that Uganda will host at least 2,000 Afghan refugees, although it is not clear when they will arrive.

“Due to the nature of the crisis Afghanistan is going through and the logistical problems of evacuating refugees, we still cannot confirm when these people will arrive in Uganda, but we are ready to receive them at any time,” Anyakon told Effie. .

The next day, in his appearance before Parliament, Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gigi Odongo, specified that the final decision on the reception had not yet been made, but that it was a “suggestion” while talks were continuing.

Uganda is currently home to about 1.5 million refugees, mostly from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Somalia and Rwanda, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to this UN agency, Uganda has one of the most generous refugee reception models in the world. EFE