Uganda is set to bring in two thousand Afghan refugees fleeing the crisis in their country at the request of the United States Government.
Refugees Minister Esther Anyakun told the BBC that President Yoweri Museveni agreed to take in the refugees at the request of the Americans.
It follows the weekend’s lightning Taliban takeover – and collapse of the federal authorities.
The first group of around 500 Afghans are expected to land at Entebbe international airport in a few hours’ time.
She added that the arrivals would be tested for Covid and enter quarantine. All logistics and costs will be handled by the US government.
When they land, Uganda will become the first African country to take in people fleeing the current crisis in Afghanistan.
Uganda has a long history of hosting refugees – and is currently home to more than one million people who have fled conflict or other disasters.
Refugees in Uganda live in settlements or villages alongside the population. Some are given plots of land and allowed to work.
Evacuation flights from Afghanistan have resumed a day after the Taliban’s military takeover raised panic in Kabul and thousands mobbed the city’s international airport in a desperate attempt to flee.
A Western security official told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that the Kabul airport’s tarmac and runway – which troops from the United States control – were now clear of crowds. The official said military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan have started taking off.
At least seven people died in Monday’s chaos, including several people who clung to the sides of a jet as it took off.
In Washington, DC, US President Joe Biden said he stood “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and fired scorching criticism at the country’s former Western-backed leadership for failing to resist the Taliban.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” he said in a televised address from the White House.
“After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces.”
The Taliban have meanwhile declared the war in Afghanistan over and a senior leader said the group would wait until foreign forces had left before creating a new governance
