The United States is looking to give former Afghan allies stuck in Qatar a choice between emigrating to Democratic Republic of Congo or returning to their homeland, an activist said Tuesday.
President Donald Trump's administration, which has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a signature policy, had given a March 31 deadline to close a camp where more than 1,100 Afghans were staying at a former US base in Qatar.
Afghans have been going through the base for processing while seeking to move to the United States, fearing persecution by the Taliban for having worked with US forces before they withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed in 2021.
Shawn VanDiver, a US veteran who heads AfghanEvac, a group seeking to help former Afghan allies, said he was briefed that the Trump administration was looking to offer the Afghans a choice to go to DR Congo or otherwise return to Afghanistan.
He said he expected the Afghans to decline to go to the African country.
‘Voluntary resettlement’
The State Department declined to confirm that DR Congo was being eyed as a destination but said the United States was looking at "voluntary resettlement" from the as-Sayliyah camp in Qatar.
"Moving the (camp) population to a third country is a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people," a State Department spokesperson said.
More than 190,000 Afghans have found new homes in the United States, with the vast majority living without incident.
The program was initiated by former president Joe Biden but initially backed by many Republicans, who had largely supported the 20-year Afghan war at its onset.
Later, the US administration dismantled the broader US refugee resettlement program and ordered a halt to processing for Afghans.
