TERMEZ /Uzbekistan/, August 18. /TASS/. Uzbekistan has temporarily accommodated several hundred Afghan refugees, a source in the Termez city administration told TASS on Wednesday.
"A group of about 150 people - children, women and men - have been accommodated in a tent camp near the checkpoint at the Uzbek-Afghan border. They are all provided with meals and personal protective equipment," the source said adding that all the refugees had undergone PCR tests.
"Another group of 650 people are at the Termez COVID center," he said pointing out that they are made up of troops, who were under the command of Afghan Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum.
In the meantime, Uzbekistan’s Transport Ministry announced that the country has converted a terminal at Tashkent’s airport for flights arriving from Afghanistan, which are evacuating Afghan refugees and Europeans. The ministry noted that the decision was taken to implement the previous agreements of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had agreed to carry on evacuating citizens of Germany, Afghanistan and the European Union through Tashkent’s airport.
On August 15, the Taliban movement (banned in Russia) swept into Kabul, meeting no resistance and taking complete control of the Afghan capital within hours. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and left the country. Western nations are evacuating their citizens and diplomatic missions. The Taliban declared that the war was over in the country. It also announced an amnesty for public officials and guaranteed security for foreigners and diplomats. Nevertheless, experts believe that it is still premature to talk about any stabilization in Afghanistan. According to updates, refugees are still fleeing the country.
On February 14, 2003, Russia’s Supreme Court handed down a ruling declaring the Taliban to be a terrorist organization. It is outlawed in Russia.