1,000 Afghan civilians flee to Tajikistan

The Tajikistan government is taking in more than 1,000 Afghan civilians as they flee from violence in their country, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The government of Tajikistan province Gorno-Badakhshan announced in a statement that ongoing fighting between their own forces and Taliban militants has caused a mass number of civilians to flee the war-ravaged area.

The province’s government also said that most of the refugees are “women, children, and elderly people,” and that they have been placed in safe areas away from the conflict.

The government said it had talked with the United Nations and Aga Khan Health Services agencies to provide food and health care for the refugees, according to Reuters. 

Taliban forces are moving into regions in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Biden administration announcing the withdraw of the U.S. troops after 20 years in the country. There have been reports that Afghanistan’s government could fall within six months of U.S. troops leaving the country.

Tajikistan has also taken in hundreds of Afghan servicemen who retreated from their positions in the northern province, Reuters noted.