US resettles last group of Afghan nationals in Virginia installation

The US has resettled the last group of Afghan nationals at the Fort Lee Virginia military installation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday.

“To date, more than 25,000 Afghan evacuees have been resettled in communities across our country,” the agency said in a statement, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Fort Lee is one of eight military installations that provided temporary housing for Afghans, including those who are Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, who left that country after the Taliban takeover of the capital, Kabul, in August.

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Nearly 45,000 vulnerable Afghans housed at seven military installations in the states of Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, are in the process of completing their resettlement.

“While on these installations, Afghan evacuees have access to a range of services, including medical care and resettlement services, and they can apply for work authorization,” said the department.

The Taliban seized Afghanistan two weeks before the US withdrawal from a 20-year war there on 31 August, sending panic through the public and prompting thousands to rush to the Kabul airport to flee the country.

The US evacuated more than 124,000 people, the majority of whom were Afghans.