1st group of Afghans who took refuge in Albania leaves for US

By Talha Ozturk and Furkan Abdula

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The first group of 212 of the 2,400 Afghans who fled the Taliban and took refuge in Albania departed for the US on Tuesday.

A farewell ceremony was held at the Tirana International Airport attended by Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka and US Ambassador Tirana Yuri Kim, among others.

"I hope you will always have a good memory of Albania and its people, and you will come back and visit us in the future," said Xhacka, adding that the process "made us all better people."

Describing her feelings as "bittersweet," Xhacka said she is proud of the people who allowed the refugees to find peace.

The US envoy thanked Albanians for their hospitality, saying Albania was the first country to open its doors to Afghans last year. Albanians take very seriously the responsibility and opportunity to protect anyone in need, she added.

Thousands of Afghans scrambled to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban seized back control of the country last August, almost two decades after they were ousted.

A large number of civilians were airlifted out of Kabul airport by US forces and its coalition partners, many of whom were taken to processing centers set up in several countries.

Albania had granted the Afghans temporary protection status as they waited to obtain US visas.