Canada announced plans to resettle more than 20,000 vulnerable Afghans including women leaders, human rights workers, members of the LGBTQ+ community and reporters to protect them from imminent Taliban reprisals, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters on Friday.
According to Reuters, the effort is in addition to an earlier initiative to welcome thousands of Afghans who worked for the Canadian government, such as interpreters, embassy workers and their families. “As the Taliban continues to take over more of Afghanistan, many more Afghans’ lives are under increasing threat,” he said.
Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said some Canadian special forces were currently in Afghanistan taking part in the relocation effort. “The