Canada willing to take in Afghan refugees

Ottawa, August 16 (RHC)-- The Canadian government has pledged to evacuate and resettle 20,000 Afghans, including women, aid workers and diplomatic staff, citing concerns about Taliban reprisals as the militant group overruns cities across Afghanistan.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced the move over the weekend, telling reporters that Ottawa would do its best to bring thousands of vulnerable Afghans to safety in Canada, though he gave no timetable for how long that could take.

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan also noted that Canadian special forces would help to relocate Afghans, saying the “challenges on the ground are quite immense,” but offered few other details. His comments followed a series of reports that the government would send a small contingent of special operators to the Canadian Embassy to assist with the evacuation of staff, though the officials cited did not provide exact numbers for the deployment.