WASHINGTON, July 14 (KUNA) -- The White House announced Wednesday the launch of a "Operation Allies Refuge" relocation flights for eligible Afghan nationals and their families "who have supported the United States and our partners in Afghanistan and are in the SIV (special immigrant visa) application pipeline." White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters that "flights out of Afghanistan for SIV applicants who are already in the pipeline will begin in the last week of July and will continue." "Our objective is to get individuals who are eligible, relocated out of the country in advance of the withdrawal of troops at the end of August," she affirmed.
She added "we are working on several fronts here - relocating individuals who have played roles as translators and others supporting US efforts in Afghanistan." She continued "we have a range of contingencies, and we are continuing to work to ensure that we can help as many of these bold and courageous individuals as we possibly can. But those are the individuals, the translators who are in the pipeline already who will be the first focus of relocation." Separately, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters in this regard "it's a special responsibility that we have and that we owe to the many brave Afghans who oftentimes at great personal risk and sometimes at great risk to their families have assisted the United States in different ways over the course of some two decades." "In recent months, the State Department has added additional resources to that effort, again, to move as urgently as we can to process as many of those who are eligible for this program as we can." Meanwhile, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the Department of Defenseآ’s role in Operation Allies Refuge "will continue to be one of providing options and support to the interagency effort that's being led by the State Department." "To date, we have identified overseas locations, and we're still examining possibilities for overseas locations, to include some departmental installations that would be capable of supporting planned relocation efforts with appropriate temporary residences and associated support infrastructure," he said.
He added "the focus of our efforts right now is in helping identify possible locations." (end) si