{"id":16092,"date":"2021-08-19T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=16092"},"modified":"2021-08-19T23:08:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T23:08:59","slug":"uganda-agreed-to-host-2000-afghanistan-refugees-at-u-s-as-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/files\/uganda-agreed-to-host-2000-afghanistan-refugees-at-u-s-as-request","title":{"rendered":"Uganda Agreed to Host 2000 Afghanistan Refugees at U.S.A’s Request"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by<\/strong>
\nFaridah N Kulumba<\/strong><\/p>\n

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>The government of Uganda is to temporarily take in 2000 refugees from Afghanistan who have fled their country after the Taliban militants took power.<\/p>\n

The State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and\u00a0Refugees\u00a0 Esther Anyakun told BBC that the deal was agreed following a request from U.S government\u00a0which was granted by Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni<\/p>\n

According to Ms\u00a0Anyakun the refugees will be hosted in Uganda temporarily\u00a0before they can be relocated by US government after three months.<\/p>\n

The Taliban regained power from President Ashraf Ghani, almost 20 years after a U.S invasion had toppled the group<\/p>\n

Taking over<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Taliban returned to power last weekend, 20 years after a US-led innervation that ousted\u00a0them in 2001.\u00a0They were able to seize control after most foreign troops pulled out.<\/p>\n

The lightning advance of the Taliban over 10 days prompted tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, many arriving in the Afghan capital, Kabul, others heading for neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n

Preparations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minister\u00a0Anyakun\u00a0revealed that the Afghanistan refugees will be received\u00a0in shifts and that the first batch of 500 were expected on the 16 August 2021 but officials said the discussion about the arrangements\u00a0are still ongoing.<\/p>\n

But why Uganda?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.N High Commission for Refugees in Uganda Representative Joel Boutroue while confining\u00a0the news said that this was due to the generosity of the Ugandan Government.<\/p>\n

Uganda has a long history of welcoming refugees and is currently home to around 1.3 million people. The nation has the largest number of refugees in any country in Africa and the third largest in the world.<\/p>\n

But many Ugandans had mixed feelings about this issue of the government accepting\u00a0to host Afghanistan refugees, as many were supporting Uganda and applauding\u00a0it for its generosity. Also many were asking questions such as whether Uganda is the largest country in the world to hold each and every refugee from Sudan. Rwanda, Dr Congo, Eritrea.Somalia, Ethiopia, and now Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Hon Muhammad Nsereko\u00a0Member of Parliament for Kampala\u00a0Central\u00a0 in his statement through his Facebook account said: “Uganda accepting to take on 2000 refugees from Afghanistan is a good gesture. Helping people that are fleeing persecution is one of the most noble things one can do,” Nsereko said.<\/p>\n\r\n