More than , civilians were evacuated by US forces and its coalition partners after the Taliban took control of the capital on 14 August - but it's unclear exactly how many of those were Afghan nationals. The US has said that it flew nearly 80, civilians out of Kabul and of those, about 5, were Americans and more than 73, were either Afghans or other foreign nationals. While the UK Ministry of Defence, which ended its evacuations on Saturday, said it had flown out more than 15, people and some 8, of them were Afghans.
At the height of the operation, the US said its military planes were departing the airport every 39 minutes - although the evacuations did slow down after the suicide bomb attack on the 26 August outside the airport, which killed about people, including 13 American troops. Many of those flown out of the country were taken to emergency processing centres set up in several countries, including Spain, Germany, Qatar and Uzbekistan.
As many as , Afghans have been affiliated with US operations in the country since , according to the International Rescue Committee, and tens of thousands of them are eligible to obtain a US visa - but many will now have to find a different way out of the country.
At the weekend, the US said it had received assurances from the Taliban that Afghan nationals who are issued with valid travel documents by another country will be allowed to leave Afghanistan.
The Taliban control all the main land crossing points with Afghanistan's neighbours shown on the map below and reports suggest they are only allowing traders or those with valid travel documents to leave the country.
However, many of those trying to flee because they fear for their safety under Taliban rule will not have any paperwork. The UN has urged Afghanistan's neighbours to keep their borders open to refugees and called on the international community to support those countries. But Uzbekistan, which borders the north of Afghanistan, has said its main crossing point is closed to "ensure security" and there are no plans to open it. Pakistan, which has the longest border with Afghanistan, has also said it will not accept refugees - with its US ambassador telling the BBC: "We are already overburdened by the refugees, and it is beyond our capacity to host any more refugees.
Last week, satellite imagery of the Spin Boldak crossing point between Afghanistan and Pakistan showed a large crowd of people gathered on the Afghan side. The BBC's Shumaila Jaffery, who was at the crossing point, said it was a chaotic scene with many Afghans not being allowed to enter Pakistan.
Last Friday, two Afghans were reportedly killed by Pakistani security forces at the Torkham border crossing after trying to enter Pakistan illegally. There have also been reports of thousands of Afghans trying to cross the western border with Iran, but it's unclear how many have been successful. The latest movement of Afghans is part of a historical exodus from a country that has suffered instability and conflict over many years. Even before the Taliban retook control, more than , people had been forced to flee their homes this year due to fighting, according to the UNHCR.
That means an estimated 3. In addition to those within Afghanistan's borders, about 2. This year, Afghans have also had to deal with a severe drought and food shortages across most of the country. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP country director for Afghanistan, said last week that unless emergency food and medical supplies arrived soon, the "already horrendous situation" would become "an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster".
This page uses Datawrapper to show interactive data. You can hover over the data, including countries on the maps, to get more detail, and download the data. Print this. Continue: Where do refugees come from? International issues Migration advice. Join us We need you to show our government that Australia cares about refugees. Help us by joining the movement so we can protect refugees, not punish them.
Join Us. Most Popular Statistics. It demonstrates that huge numbers of displaced people stay close to their point of origin. There are more than 48 million internally displaced people — people who have had to flee their homes in search of safety elsewhere within their home nation. The highest increases in the number of internally displaced people happened in Africa and were provoked by a combination of armed conflict and humanitarian disasters.
In , , refugees were able to return to their home country, or found permanent homes in a third country. That fell to below , in as the pandemic made travel harder than ever, with lockdowns and border closures taking their toll.
An estimated , refugees were able to return to 30 countries of origin in , though. Most of those were people returning from Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia. The figures are hard to verify, the report says, as many people choose to return without seeking help from agencies.
Since April , , Burundians have fled to neighbouring countries. Some 40, people were able to return to Burundi in , most of whom came from Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite the continuing instability of the situation there, 38, displaced people were reported to have returned to Syria in They came mainly from Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.
To date, the LET has responded to more than 20 large-scale natural disasters and humanitarian crises, providing critical logistical support for hurricane victims in Haiti, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, tsunami victims in Indonesia, civilians in war-ravaged Yemen and many more.
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