US General Says Fewer than 1,400 of Those Evacuated from Afghanistan are in Qatar

A US military officer walks towards a US Air Force plane at Al Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar, September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
A US military officer walks towards a US Air Force plane at Al Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar, September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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US General Says Fewer than 1,400 of Those Evacuated from Afghanistan are in Qatar

A US military officer walks towards a US Air Force plane at Al Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar, September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
A US military officer walks towards a US Air Force plane at Al Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar, September 4, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The United States has moved most of more than 57,000 people it evacuated from Afghanistan to Qatar out of the Gulf state, with some now in the United States while others are being processed in Europe, a US general said on Saturday.

Roughly 124,000 people were evacuated last month from Kabul in a massive US-led airlift of US and other foreign citizens as well as vulnerable Afghans as the Taliban took control there, Reuters reported.

There were now fewer than 1,400 evacuees on the Qatar base, with many scheduled to be flown out soon while a small group needing medical care would remain until they can travel, Brigadier General Gerald Donohue told reporters.

At one point there were over 17,500 evacuees at Qatar's Al Udeid, Donohue said, adding that nine babies were born to evacuees.

Following the scramble to evacuate vulnerable Afghans, thousands of people, some with no documentation or pending US visa applications, others in families with mixed immigration statuses, are now waiting in "transit hubs" in third countries.

Afghans must overcome immigration hurdles to eventually enter the United States.



Biden Approves $567 Mln in Defense Support for Taiwan, White House Says

Taiwanese flags are seen at the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, December 26, 2022. (Reuters)
Taiwanese flags are seen at the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, December 26, 2022. (Reuters)
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Biden Approves $567 Mln in Defense Support for Taiwan, White House Says

Taiwanese flags are seen at the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, December 26, 2022. (Reuters)
Taiwanese flags are seen at the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, December 26, 2022. (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden on Sunday approved $567 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, the latest move by the United States to boost the island's military in the face of rising tensions with China.

The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China has repeatedly demanded Washington stop selling weapons to Taipei, which it claims as its territory.

In a statement, the White House said Biden had delegated the Secretary of State the authority "to direct the drawdown of up to $567 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan".

It provided no further details.

In April, Biden signed a hard-fought bill into law that provides billions of dollars of new US aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia, as well as for Israel and Taiwan.

Taipei has complained of delayed US arms deliveries, including for upgraded F-14 fighter jets.

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.