{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur","title":"Trump in Talks to Send Afghan Allies to Congo","domain":"nytimes.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/7142494/pexels-photo-7142494.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"refugees","category":"World","language":"en","slug":"6ec97914","id":"6ec97914-64d5-4b87-8e2d-0482b5bcc965","description":"Trump's Congo Plan: President Trump is in talks to send up to 1,100 Afghans who aided U.S. forces from Qatar to the Democratic Republic of Congo.[[1]](http","summary":"## TL;DR\n- **Trump's Congo Plan:** President Trump is in talks to send up to 1,100 Afghans who aided U.S. forces from Qatar to the Democratic Republic of Congo.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)[[2]](https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/trump-send-afghan-allies-us-congo-taliban-qatar-camp-refugees-rcna341352)\n- **1,100 Afghans Affected:** The group includes interpreters, Afghan Special Operations members, U.S. service members' families, and over 400 children stuck in Qatar for over a year.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- **Aid Group Criticism:** AfghanEvac says the choice between Congo's crisis or Taliban return amounts to forcing many back to face death in Afghanistan.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\n## The story at a glance\nThe Trump administration halted U.S. resettlement for Afghans who supported American forces and is now discussing sending up to 1,100 of them to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to an aid worker briefed by State Department officials. The Afghans, evacuated to a Qatar camp after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal, include interpreters, commandos, and families with over 400 children. This is being reported now amid Qatari pressure to resolve their limbo status and a March 31 deadline to close the camp.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)[[3]](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04/22/world/politics/us-afghans-taliban-congo)\n\n## Key points\n- Up to **1,100 Afghans** in Qatar, including U.S. military interpreters, former Afghan Special Operations forces, and family members of American service members.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- Over **400 children** among the group, evacuated for safety after aiding U.S. efforts in the war against the Taliban that began in 2001.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- They have lived in limbo at a former U.S. base in Qatar for over a year following the 2021 evacuation.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- Plan offers choice: relocate to DRC or return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, per Shawn VanDiver of AfghanEvac.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- DRC already hosts over **600,000 refugees** (mostly from Central African Republic and Rwanda) per the United Nations, amid its own humanitarian crisis.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n- Fighting with Rwanda has displaced more people by attacking refugee camps, and human rights activists say DRC cannot handle additional arrivals.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\n## Details and context\nThese Afghans were pulled from Afghanistan by the U.S. for protection because their support for American forces put them at risk from the Taliban.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur) After Trump halted their path to U.S. resettlement, Qatar pressed the U.S. to find them a new home, leading to these DRC talks.[[4]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html)\n\nThe DRC faces one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with ongoing conflict including clashes with Rwanda that target camps and displace hundreds of thousands more.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur) Aid groups like AfghanEvac argue the options create an impossible choice, as few would pick DRC over likely death in Afghanistan.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\n## Key quotes\nShawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac and briefed by State Department officials: “We think this is just them wanting to send these people back to Afghanistan, where they know they will face certain death.”[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\nShawn VanDiver: “They know that Afghans are not going to accept the D.R.C. Why would you go from the world’s No. 1 refugee crisis to the world’s No. 2 refugee crisis?”[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\n## Why it matters\nThe plan tests U.S. commitments to allies who risked their lives supporting American forces over two decades. It could force many into unsafe conditions in either Taliban Afghanistan or crisis-ridden DRC, straining humanitarian resources there. Watch whether the talks advance, if Afghans accept relocation, or if Congress or advocates block returns to Afghanistan, though outcomes remain uncertain.\n\n## What changed\nU.S. resettlement program for these Afghans was available before Trump halted it. Now they face options of DRC relocation or Taliban return. The halt occurred before the April 21, 2026 report, with a March 31 camp closure deadline passed.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)[[3]](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04/22/world/politics/us-afghans-taliban-congo)\n\n## FAQ\nQ: Who are the 1,100 Afghans in Qatar?  \nA: They include interpreters for the U.S. military, former Afghan Special Operations forces members, and family members of American service members, with over 400 children among them. They were evacuated for safety after aiding U.S. efforts against the Taliban. They have been at a former U.S. base for over a year.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\nQ: What choice is the U.S. offering these Afghans?  \nA: According to an aid worker briefed by State Department officials, they must choose between resettlement in the Democratic Republic of Congo or returning to live under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. This follows the halt of their U.S. resettlement program. AfghanEvac sees it as a push toward Afghanistan.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\nQ: Why is the Democratic Republic of Congo involved?  \nA: The U.S. is in talks to send them there amid Qatari pressure to relocate the group. DRC already hosts over 600,000 refugees and faces its own crisis with Rwanda clashes displacing more. Human rights activists say it cannot absorb extras.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)\n\nQ: What is AfghanEvac's view of the plan?  \nA: Shawn VanDiver, its president, calls it a pretext to force returns to Afghanistan where they face death, questioning why Afghans would swap one major refugee crisis for another. He was briefed by State officials. The group helps former Afghan allies.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur)","hashtags":["#refugees","#trump","#administration","#afghanistan","#drc","#immigration"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html?smtyp=cur","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/trump-send-afghan-allies-us-congo-taliban-qatar-camp-refugees-rcna341352","title":""},{"url":"https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04/22/world/politics/us-afghans-taliban-congo","title":""},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/world/europe/afghan-refugees-congo-us.html","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-22T12:13:37.549Z","createdAt":"2026-04-22T12:13:37.549Z","articlePublishedAt":"2026-04-21T19:05:37.000Z"}