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Some Afghans, temporarily housed in Kosovo, have been denied entry to the United States because they did not pass the verification process, a US State Department (DASH) official confirmed to Radio Free Europe.
“While most Afghan travelers within the OAW group [Operacioni për mirëpritjen e aleatëve] have been allowed to enter the United States through our verification process, including most Afghans in Kosovo, a small number of individuals who have not passed the process serve as an example that the system is working properly. “The department, after all, values the security of the American people with the highest priority,” said the DASH official.
The official did not want to talk about individual cases or new refusals to enter the US, but added that as long as the verification system continues to operate “there will be other individuals who will eventually be unable to relocate. in the USA ”.
Speaking about what will happen to Afghans who have been denied entry to the US, the DASH official told Radio Free Europe that “we expect the Afghans at Camp Liya in Bondsteel, or will go through the process of verification that will enable them to travel to the US within the 365-day period, or will be relocated to a third country ”. He also said Washington would help bring Afghans back to Afghanistan if they chose to do so.
After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August last year, the US launched efforts to oust Afghans who had worked for Washington and allied states, as they and their families were in danger of the Taliban returning to power.
Kosovo had pledged to accept up to 2,000 Afghan nationals until legal repatriation proceedings were completed in the United States and other countries.
More than 1,300 Afghans have been sheltered in Kosovo since August 2021, when the agreement between Kosovo and the United States was signed for their shelter for up to 365 days.
The Afghans stationed in Kosovo are reported to have been mainly US and NATO collaborators, during their presence in Afghanistan, from 2001 to 2021.
They were housed in the American camp Bondsteel and in one and another camp near it known as the Bechtel-Enka construction camp. Both of these camps are near the city of Ferizaj and the distance between them is less than two kilometers.
According to the DASH official, so far close to 600 Afghans have left the US military camp, Bondsteel, located in Ferizaj.
The DASH official also said the US will work with individuals who have been barred from entering the US to find alternatives to their housing.
“This includes identifying countries that are willing to accept Afghans to relocate, or, when Afghans want to return voluntarily to Afghanistan, to assist in these situations. “However, the US will not mediate the return of any Afghan citizen to Afghanistan, unless they want to return on their own,” said the DASH official.
American newspaper The Wall Street Journalreported on May 24 that at least 22 Afghans are still undergoing the verification process, of which, 16 have been notified that their US entry applications have been rejected.
According to this newspaper, the reason for the refusal was the disclosure of some disqualifying information that was found about the Afghans sheltered in Kosovo. Although the paper did not say exactly what the information was about, it was reported that, according to earlier statements by US officials, such information may include past links to the Taliban or other groups identified by Washington as terrorist groups or because of the criminal past in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, regarding the possibility of relocating Afghans to a third country, a US official told the WSJ that “something that may be of concern to the US may not be to another country.”
The agreement between Kosovo and the US on the temporary accommodation of Afghans entered into force on August 25, 2021. It states that “The US agrees to relocate identified individuals to another location within 365 days of the individuals arriving in the Republic of Kosovo ”.
“This agreement may be amended by mutual agreement of the parties,” it said, adding that the agreement remains in force for two years or until the parties decide to repeal it.
Authorities in Kosovo have not yet commented on whether they are in talks with the US Government on the issue of Afghans sheltered in Kosovo, who have been barred from entering the US.
In March this year, a senior US State Department official told reporters that no Afghan who could pass verification process, will not remain in Kosovo./ REL
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