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U.S. Weighs Relocating Afghan Evacuees to DR Congo Amid Backlash

The U.S. is reportedly in talks to relocate around 1,100 Afghan evacuees currently housed at a former US base in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to advocacy group AfghanEvac. The group, which includes interpreters, former Afghan commandos, and families of US-linked personnel, was evacuated after the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

AfghanEvac has criticised the plan, saying that it suspects that Washington seeks to send the former US military allies back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. AfghanEvac said the plan to send them to Congo is an attempt to "manufacture a refusal." Congo has some 6.9 million internally displaced people, according to UN figures, particularly in the east of the country, which has seen fierce fighting between the army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

The State Department declined to confirm that Congo was being eyed as a destination but said the United States was looking at "voluntary resettlement" from the As Sayliyah camp in Qatar.

InFocus

VOA

Democratic Republic of Congo

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