WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States is not giving refuge in its embassies and consulates to former Muslim translators who worked for the US military in Afghanistan and are now hunted down by the Taliban, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
“We have to follow the law of the land here,” Kirby stated at the daily briefing on Tuesday. “Our embassies and consulates are not equipped to shelter individuals on an emergency basis. We just don't have that capability.”
Visas to the United States for former translators for the US government and armed services in Afghanistan are supposed to be processed within nine months, but many have been waiting for years in vain.
“There is some legislation now… We worked with Congress on that. We understand there [are] still concerns about that,” Kirby acknowledged.
There are no reliable figures reported for the number of interpreters already killed by the Taliban, but Vice News documentary film-maker Ben Anderson cited a 2009 report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees indicating that 1,460 interpreters may have been killed between 2009 and 2015.
