Tens of thousands of Americans, Afghans and other foreigners have been evacuated from Kabul International Airport to U.S. military installations in Qatar, a key U.S. partner in the Middle East that has received public outcry from the President Joe Biden and his senior officials.
But in private, Qatari officials warn their US counterparts that the situation at US facilities, where thousands of Afghan evacuees are housed, is getting worse, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Defense. Internal status obtained by ABC News.
Some Afghans and Americans who have been housed at the bases have spoken publicly about the lack of space, food and water or facilities. But urgent warnings from Qatari officials to their U.S. counterparts speak to how tight facilities have become and the risks this entails, including human trafficking.
Asked about the conditions on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the administration was “aware” of the problems, but that it “worked quickly to improve them.”
“We certainly want people who are being evacuated to be treated with respect. We also want them to be safe, hence the need for speed, but we have worked to improve conditions as soon as we have learned,” he said.
However, at Monday’s meetings, Qatari Foreign Ministry officials still expressed concern over the “deteriorating health and safety conditions” and overcrowding at Al Udeid air base and the countryside. As Sayliyah, according to the internal report.
In particular, Lolwah al Khater, Qatar’s deputy foreign minister, told US Ambassador John Desrocher that both bases “had reached the maximum capacity to stay safely” and warned of “growing crises. “to each of them.
The two Qatari bases include U.S. military installations that house thousands of evacuees, although pressure on them has waned in recent days as more U.S. allies accept evacuation flights, especially Germany.
“The fact that we now have more than two dozen countries, spread across four continents, participating in this operation has already meant relief for the crowd in Doha,” a State Department spokesman told ABC on Tuesday. News, which added that “they are working closely to improve ground conditions in Qatar.”
Qatari officials were especially concerned about the “famous” Afghan hangar “Al Udeid,” according to the internal report, which houses about 4,500 Afghans. There are another 4,000 Afghans in the As Sayliyah camp, where Qatari officials warned that there was “increased tension among the Afghan population,” according to the report, which did not provide further details.
Khalifa Jassim al Kuwari, Qatar’s head of aid and development, also “doubted that the USG (US government) had enough personnel, food and medicine in the CAS (Camp As Sayliyah) to adequately serve Afghans,” according to the ‘report. officials.
U.S. facilities do not have sufficient basic toilets and sanitation, Qatari officials told their U.S. counterparts. In fact, the Qatar Red Crescent Society had already provided mobile shower trucks and hygiene kits in recent days to help meet desperate needs and its Foreign Ministry organized cleaning services.
A State Department spokesman told ABC News on Tuesday that the administration was working to improve conditions, including the incorporation of air conditioning, improved sanitation, increased supplies, housing expansion and l increase staff to process some people out of Qatar faster.
“Qatar has been at the forefront of our efforts as the first evacuation site. We are grateful to the Qatari government for its generous help that has allowed us to accommodate more than 20,000 people and has sent hundreds of U.S. citizens to the United States and thousands of “Afghans in the United States, Germany and Italy for further trials,” they added in a statement.
Beyond food and water, Qatari officials expressed concern about “whether the USG could provide sufficient medicines and health care requirements for the large number of Afghans arriving,” the report said. Al Khater urged U.S. military officials to “gather more health resources … to care for the Afghans who moved in,” he said.
Qatar also has security issues.
Al Khater told U.S. officials that there was “danger of human trafficking in these circumstances and highlighted the cases of unaccompanied minors from Kabul,” according to the internal report.
The U.S. government has been working to reunite some unaccompanied minors separated from their families amid evacuation work, a second State Department spokesman told ABC News on Saturday, adding that they had already met with success “a number” of them with parents and loved ones.
State Department and Kabul Airport Defense Department officials “helped” several unaccompanied minors to “take refuge” in a “reunification center” run by Norway, according to an internal report on the situation on Monday which also got ABC News.
In addition, al-Khater and other Qatari officials called on the United States to manifest all incoming and outgoing flights, saying they appreciated the efforts of the United States, but were concerned that there was no “rigorous filtering system to address these flights.” in Kabul.
U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism officials are conducting control and security tests on all Afghans before they can enter the United States, a State Department spokesman told ABC News on Tuesday. . But it is unclear what steps are being taken to secure Qatar officials.
Despite high-level concerns, the State Department report noted that cooperation between the two countries on the “Afghan relocation crisis has improved markedly in recent days,” praising the “unprecedented level of work.” as a team at senior and work level “.