Fearing possible ”revenge”… European Parliament Speaker calls for evacuation of Afghans

European Parliament President David Sassoli on Wednesday called on the bloc’s countries to share the reception of Afghan refugees and not to leave them to what he called “revenge.”

Sassouli said the EU has a responsibility to accept Afghan refugees, stressing that the bloc “cannot let those who worked for it in Afghanistan “face retaliation.”

Refugees whose are coming from Afghanistan that is now in the hands of the Taliban, should be distributed equally among States; Members of the European Union, explaining: ”I believe that the European Commission can enable them to achieve equality in the distribution between Member States, and this can be done quickly”.

Since taking control of Afghanistan with the withdrawal of US-led forces, the Taliban say they want peace, do not want revenge against their old enemies, and will respect women’s rights under “Islamic law”.

Many Afghans remain skeptical of these promises, however, and thousands want to leave, many of whom have assisted Western forces in Afghanistan during their 20-year stay.

“We have to protect those who have worked and cooperated with us, we cannot allow them to face retaliation,” Sassoli, an Italian, told reporters during a visit to Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius.

“The responsibility is on our shoulders.

A Western security official told Reuters on Wednesday that more than 2200 diplomats and civilians had been evacuated from Afghanistan by military flights. The official did not specify how many Afghans were among them.