Kosovo ‘Will Only Give Refuge to At-Risk Afghan Refugees’

The Kosovo government has denied media reports that Afghan refugees who have not passed the initial vetting to be allowed into the US will be given refuge in the country, as more evacuees are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Right-wing US media outlet Fox News reported on Monday that US officials had told it that "Camp Bondsteel, a US military base in the Balkan country of Kosovo, will temporarily house Afghan refugees who don't pass the initial round of vetting"

Fox News also claimed that the US is sending "any Afghans flagged for criminal or terror ties to Kosovo".

The Kosovo government and the US embassy in Pristina insist however that Kosovo will only shelter Afghan citizens who are at risk due to their collaboration with the US and NATO.

In a press release on Saturday, the US embassy in Pristina said that the agreement between the US and Kosovo "allows the US to temporarily shelter… a limited number of Afghan citizens, whose applications (for visas in the US) require additional processing".

"Some media reports have left readers with the incorrect impression that the United States intends to transfer to Kosovo individuals whom US authorities have deemed inadmissible to the United States. This is not the case," the embassy said.

It further explained that the agreement between the US and Kosovo allows the US to "temporarily host at Camp Bondsteel, a limited number of Afghan citizens whose applications require additional processing".

"This may include tasks such as: clarifying applicants' identities, their employment history, or other ties to the United States. US Embassy officials in Kosovo are assisting in this process," the press release said.

Kosovo government spokesperson Perparim Kryeziu told...