Afghans and US soldiers separated by barbed wire at Kabul airport. Photo: SHAKIB RAHMANI / Profimedia Images
The armed attack in Washington “should not be” a reason for the Trump administration to review its migration policy towards Afghans, a UN official told AFP on Thursday.
An Afghan national who had worked for US forces in Afghanistan is suspected of opening fire Wednesday in Washington DC, not far from the White House, on two members of the US National Guard, who are now in critical condition in hospital.
The attack provoked a firm reaction from Donald Trump, who immediately asked his administration to “re-examine” all individuals who came from Afghanistan to the US during the time when Democratic predecessor Joe Biden was in power, reports Agerpres.
“Targeted” attack, close to the White House, in which two National Guard soldiers were shot, now in “critical condition” / The first information about the suspect / The Trump administration immediately took measures against Afghans in the US
“This person is accused of a heinous crime and if it turns out to be true, which appears to be the case, then we condemn him unreservedly,” reiterated Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency's director in Afghanistan.
However, the official expressed hope that this situation “will not affect the other Afghans, asylum seekers and refugees” present in the US.
“I'm a bit worried when I see all the articles that constantly insist that he is of Afghan origin,” Jamal confessed in an interview in Brussels.
“I hope this will not tarnish the image of the many Afghans in the US and other countries who have faithfully stood by the Americans during their mission in Afghanistan,” the UN official added.
According to the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Neom, the suspect took advantage of a program implemented by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden to help, after the return of the Taliban to power, Afghans who collaborated with the Americans.
What is known about the Afghan who shot two soldiers in Washington: He worked with the CIA and the US military
