UK to resettle 20,000 Afghans in the coming years
The UK has vowed to resettle 20,000 Afghans in the coming years as many leave their home country out of fear of persecution by the Taliban.
The government has unveiled plans to offer refuge to those most at risk, as fears have mounted for those who had worked against the Taliban in Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul to militants on Sunday.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that up to 5,000 Afghans can resettle in the UK this year, adding that it will find refuge for 20,000 in total in the longer term.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last 20 years,” Johnson said.
“Many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help.
The new Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme will tend to those having to flee their homes, while guiding them through the process of resettling.
Some 2,000 Afghans have already arrived under the scheme, according to the government’s figures.
Ministers have said that the scheme will be reviewed in the coming years.