1st group of 149 Afghan evacuees arrives in North Macedonia

A first group of 149 Afghan evacuees has landed in North Macedonia, where they will stay for a few months pending resettlement elsewhere

North Macedonia Afghanistan Evacuees (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A first group of 149 Afghan evacuees landed late Monday in North Macedonia, where they will stay for a few months pending resettlement elsewhere.

The passengers on a private Afghan Kam Air flight that arrived at Skopje international airport were employees of Western organizations in Afghanistan and members of their families.

Met first by medical workers in protective clothing, the Afghan men, women and children were transferred to a hotel near the capital, Skopje. They will be tested for the coronavirus and granted temporary three-month visas.

Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the evacuees were people in acute need of help.

“These are our allies, people we have worked with us and whose lives are in danger, and people who need help the most,” he said.

North Macedonia has agreed to host temporarily at least 750 Afghans who worked with U.S-led international forces.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has said all evacuees will be sheltered in hotels near Skopje, at the expense of international organizations as well as the U.S.

North Macedonia has been a NATO member since 2020, and it had troops in Afghanistan to support the alliance deployment in 2002-2014.