The United States is conducting negotiations with countries in Asia and Africa to receive 1,100 Afghans who have been stranded in Qatar for more than a year.
The US State Department is conducting negotiations with countries in Asia and Africa to receive 1,100 Afghans who have been stranded at a former US military base in Qatar for more than a year.
They were evacuated by the Biden administration but now cannot enter the United States as the Donald Trump administration has blocked entry to Afghans. The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States wants to evacuate the former Sailiya military camp and has missed a March 31 deadline. American officials confirmed to the newspaper that the United States is conducting negotiations with at least three countries, two of which are in sub-Saharan Africa and one in Southeast Asia, to receive these Afghans.
Many of these Afghans helped the United States in its war in Afghanistan. After the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2021, Camp Al Sailiya became a safe haven for Afghans who worked with the United States and applied to come to the United States. This became their waiting station as the United States processed the final approval of their papers. The operation continued until 2024 and many Afghans left the camp and entered the United States after agreeing.
But after Trump came to power, the process stopped. Now they have nowhere to go. The State Department said they could not be transferred to the United States and could not return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After the November 2025 shooting in the capital by an Afghan who was working with the CIA on humanitarian parole, the administration suspended all entry of Afghan citizens.The US wants to close the camp, with the State Department having to spend $10 million a month to keep it running.
Qatar also wanted the US to close the camp because it was not meant to be permanent. The newspaper’s report stated, “The United States tried and failed to persuade Arab countries with a Muslim majority to receive the Afghans, according to one American official, which prompted them to open negotiations with countries beyond that.” “The real story here is the Biden administration’s chaotic and poorly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan, creating a crisis that we are still dealing with today, including many who were not properly vetted and were placed on temporary platforms with promises that could not be kept,” State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott told the Wall Street Journal. The United States is now offering up to $4,500 per main applicant and about $1,200 per family member to return to Afghanistan.
