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The United States said Tuesday it had evacuated nearly 500 "military and civilian" Afghans from Uzbekistan, while the ex-Soviet country declared there were now no Afghan refugees on its territory.
The days leading up to the Taliban's capture of Kabul caused scenes of chaos in Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbours Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as soldiers loyal to the crumbling government fled over state borders in military aircraft.
But a US embassy front man told AFP Tuesday it had evacuated 494 "military and civilian" Afghans out of Uzbekistan's southern Termez airport with the Uzbek government's help.
"The evacuation was completed September 12-13," the front man told AFP by telephone, making no comment on the final destination of the refugees.
Uzbek foreign ministry front man Yusup Kabulzhanov on Monday confirmed the evacuation in comments to the privately-owned Kun.uz outlet.
"All Afghan refugees have left the territory of Uzbekistan", he said, without giving figures.
A staffer at Afghanistan's embassy told AFP last month that up to 1,500 Afghans might have crossed into Uzbekistan illegally after the Taliban secured control of the northern stronghold Mazar-e-Sharif in mid-August and began beating a path towards Kabul.
In a rare statement on the refugees in August, Uzbekistan said it had returned 150 people to Afghanistan at their own request and following talks with the Taliban to guarantee their safety.
- THOUSANDS OF AFGHANS IN TAJIKISTAN: EU -
Tajikistan, which has eschewed official contacts with the Taliban, has been similarly secretive about the number of refugees it has taken in.
The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...'s delegation in the country said on Tuesday that it was providing 160,000 Euros in humanitarian aid
funding "to benefit up to 5,000 displaced Afghans" in two Tajik provinces bordering Afghanistan.The EU statement cited the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as saying that "up to 50,000 refugees could be registered in Tajikistan after the total withdrawal of American and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
troops by the end of 2021".
The statement comes after Interior Minister Ramazon Hamro Rahimzoda earlier this month criticised international donors for failing to help Tajikistan house refugees.
Afghanistan is set to dominate discussions at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation -- a bloc that includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian countries, China, India, Pakistain and Russia -- hosted by Tajikistan this week.
Related:
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-13 Good Morning
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-13 Planes that escaped from Kabul to Uzbekistan are returning to their owners
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-10 Pakistan provides first tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-13 Good Morning
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-13 Planes that escaped from Kabul to Uzbekistan are returning to their owners
Uzbekistan: 2021-09-10 Pakistan provides first tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Related:
Tajikistan: 2021-09-10 Pakistan provides first tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Tajikistan: 2021-09-09 Resistance leaders Massoud, Saleh still in Afghanistan's Panjshir, setting up parallel govt
Tajikistan: 2021-09-09 Two Russian planeloads of Kyrgyzstan citizens evacuated from Kabul
Tajikistan: 2021-09-10 Pakistan provides first tranche of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Tajikistan: 2021-09-09 Resistance leaders Massoud, Saleh still in Afghanistan's Panjshir, setting up parallel govt
Tajikistan: 2021-09-09 Two Russian planeloads of Kyrgyzstan citizens evacuated from Kabul
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