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Uganda receives 51 evacuees from Afghanistan

Wednesday August 25 2021
refugees

An evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 24, 2021. Uganda on August 25, 2021 received evacuees from Afghanistan. PHOTO | SAMUEL RUIZ | US MARINE CORPS | AFP

By The EastAfrican

Uganda on Tuesday received 51 evacuees from Afghanistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement.

They arrived at Entebbe International Airport early morning aboard a privately chartered plane.

"They underwent the necessary security screening as well as the mandatory Covid-19 testing and quarantine procedures," the statement says.

Uganda says the US requested it to host "at-risk" Afghans and people of other nationalities who are in transit to America and other nations. The country says it agreed to host the evacuees in line with its "consistent policy in receiving refugees and persons in distress as well as playing a responsible role in matters of international concern."

Ugandans who were to travel on this flight were unable to make it due to challenges in accessing the airport in Kabul, the statement says. However, arrangements are being made to have them travel on another flight.

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