US has evacuated more than 24,000 Afghans since September 2021

WASHINGTON

The US has evacuated more than 24,000 Afghans since September 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

"Thanks to our state and local partners, thanks to the generosity of our fellow citizens, we’ve relocated more than 24,000 Afghans to the United States and third countries since September 2021," said Blinken.

He made the remarks at a ceremony for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Afghan Evac Coalition and the US State Department.

Overall, Washington has relocated more than 97,000 Afghans to the US, who Blinken said are going to school, starting new jobs and settling into their communities inside the US.

He recalled that President Joe Biden brought an end to America’s longest conflict and made a commitment that the United States would continue to relocate and resettle its Afghan partners.

"We are determined to fulfill that pledge, just as this group is. And together, that’s what we’re doing," he said.

"What began as a 6:30 a.m. call between seven groups in August of 2021 has now evolved into a coalition of more than 200 groups – thousands of volunteers," he said in reference to the coalition.

The US presence in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001, came to an end after 20 years with the withdrawal of American troops completed in 2021.

Members of the Republican Party have asserted that the withdrawal process descended into "chaos" and was poorly managed by the Biden administration.