15 minutes agoUS rejects 16 Afghan refugees staying in Kosovo
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)A group of 16 Afghan evacuees living in the US military base “Bundsel” in Kosovo are considered inadequate to enter the US, according to media reports and government officials. The State Department is looking for other countries willing to accept the denied Afghans, two federal agency officials said. “Afghan refugees [...]
The State Department is looking for other countries willing to accept the denied Afghans, two federal agency officials said.
Afghan refugees are allowed to stay on the basis until one year, according to the deal between the US and Kosovo”, said a senior administration official, who is aware of the situation and demanded anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the data.
The fact that only a small number of those applicants have been denied access to the US is an example of the system that operates exactly correctly”, the State Department official said.
Many of those left at Camp Bondsteel are members of the family of someone undergoing an additional security verification, with hopes of being deployed in the United States.
About 70 refugees remain in the camp, from approximately 200 in December. Many moved to the United States, while some left after applying for asylum in other countries.
Officials who spoke of “Stars and Stripes” did not show which countries could accept those denied by the US, though one of them said an Afghan had recently left the base to seek entry into a Persian Gulf country, Klankosova broadcasts.
During the evacuation of some 74,000 people from Afghanistan last summer, American lawmakers voiced fears that the evacuees could present security threats or have links to violent groups such as the Taliban or the Islamic State.
Some of the 16 who were refused were told by the Wall Street Journal that their families had no contact with militant groups and were simply victims of poor translation.
