Another group of 259 children, women and men who left the base of Mazari Al Sharif has arrived in Albania at the “Mother Teresa” international airport in Rinas where they were welcomed by the Foreign Minister, Olta Xhacka.
“Thanks to coordination with partners, they now have a safe haven, reaffirming Albania’s seriousness and commitment to rescuing hundreds of Afghan citizens,” said Xhacka.
Albanian authorities immediately expressed readiness to shelter a number of Afghan citizens as soon as Taliban violence and unrest erupted in Kabul. The number of Afghan nationals sheltered in Albania is currently around 960 people, who have occasionally arrived in various groups after the withdrawal of the US and NATO after two decades of fight against the Taliban who are now in power.
Albania is one of the first countries to commit to hosting hundreds of women, girls, children, journalists and translators and Afghan civil society activists. It has pledged to host 4,000 Afghan citizens. Moreover its highest authorities have declared that the Afghan refugees can permanently live in Albania offering job places including media sector. / argumentum.al