UAE to temporarily host 5,000 Afghan refugees at US request

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has agreed to temporarily host 5,000 Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan on their way to other countries at the request of the United States, the Gulf Arab state's foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on U.S. aircraft in the coming days," the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The foreign ministry told Reuters they would be hosted for 10 days.

The UAE has so far facilitated the evacuation of 8,500 people from Afghanistan on its aircraft and through its airports, it said.

The announcement came after U.S. officials told Reuters Washington was expected to announce that countries in Europe and the Middle East have agreed to temporarily shelter people evacuated from Kabul as its base in Qatar reached capacity.

A Qatari official told Reuters the Gulf Arab state was "continuing our efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan. Additional flights are scheduled during the upcoming days."

Bahrain will allow planes carrying evacuees to stop over in the kingdom as part of efforts to assist rescue operations in Afghanistan, the Bahraini foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, ending a weeks-long offensive and resulting in the collapse of the US-backed government.

Internationally-Recognized Afghan President Ashraf Ghani resigned and left the country for the UAE. The seizure of power has forced thousands of Afghans to seek escape from the country for fear of reprisals from the militants.