About 20,000 Afghan U.S. troops are seeking relocation – international

The White House said Thursday (15) that about 20,000 Afghans, especially translators, who had helped U.S. troops were asked to relocate by the United States, although the number of applicants’ families was not included.

White House spokeswoman Jen Socky told a news conference that the Afghans and their families would be taken to a US military base, a US military base abroad or a third country, depending on the progress of their security checks.

Washington has launched a wide-ranging operation to transfer US military aides to Afghanistan. Flights for the group are expected to begin in the last week of July, and US troops are expected to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31.

The planned departure of past American soldiers has raised fears of Taliban retaliation and the re-emergence of interpreters and other Afghans who helped them.

In recent months, the Taliban have recaptured vast rural areas of the Afghan region in parallel with foreign troops, which is expected to begin in early May and end in late August.

Afghan forces that have lost US support — especially air support — offer little resistance and control only provincial capitals and major highways.