The U.S. government has agreed at the last minute to extend the stay of Afghans at the As Sayliyah camp in Qatar for another nine months. More than 1,000 Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the war or are relatives of U.S. service members are staying at the camp.
The As Sayliyah camp was scheduled to close on Wednesday, coinciding with the end of the U.S. fiscal year. However, under the latest decision, its operations will continue for another nine months.
According to a U.S. official, President Donald Trump finalized the decision on Tuesday. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the nine-month extension of the stay of these individuals had been agreed upon.
It remains unclear whether Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, personally signed the diplomatic note notifying Qatar of the decision or delegated it to one of his deputies.
The decision comes months after Rubio told the U.S. Congress that Washington was still in discussions with several third countries about accepting 1,039 Afghans. These individuals previously worked as interpreters or in other roles supporting U.S. forces and institutions, while some are relatives of U.S. service members.
Some of these Afghans have been waiting in Qatar for more than a year to be transferred to another country or for a decision to be made on their cases.
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