US weighs Congo relocation for Afghans who aided forces: Report

Hundreds of Afghans who supported US forces could be sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the Trump administration halted their resettlement in the US, according to a report.

Citing advocacy groups and officials, ABC News reported Wednesday that Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, said about 1,100 Afghans, including interpreters and families, are being held at a US-run facility in Doha and may be offered relocation to Congo or return to Afghanistan.

The plan was first reported by The New York Times.

The US State Department said it is pursuing “voluntary resettlement” options but gave no details, calling relocation to a third country a “positive resolution.”

VanDiver warned the move risks returning vulnerable Afghans to danger, saying: “This is not them trying to resettle 1,100 Afghans. This is them trying to send 1,100 Afghans back to Afghanistan… using the Democratic Republic of Congo as the cover that lets them do it.”

Congo faces a worsening displacement crisis, with millions uprooted amid ongoing conflict, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

“You do not solve the world’s No. 1 refugee crisis by dumping it into the world’s No. 2 refugee crisis,” VanDiver added.