German air base to host 10,000 Afghan evacuees
The current capacity of the air base is 5,000 people, but it is meant to serve as a temporary location for up to 10,000, a U.S. official at the base said this week.
Video released by the U.S. Department of Defense showed U.S. soldiers at the base providing assistance to Afghan families, who have to undergo a three-day quarantine in accordance with anti-COVID-19 measures after a first medical examination.
The U.S. as well as other countries including Germany, Britain or Spain are desperately trying to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan as reports of Taliban reprisals against Afghans who worked with Western-led forces increase.
Evacuees are being sent to a dozen countries outside Afghanistan, including across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia as concerns about security in Kabul are increasing and where roughly 5,800 troops are protecting the airport.
