Afghans kept in wretched conditions at US base in Qatar

Video footage obtained by media outlets showed have showed dire conditions for Afghan evacuees at a US airbase in Qatar.

Photos and video footage shared showed hundreds of Afghans crowded together in unsanitary conditions in a hangar at Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, reports the Al Jazeera.

Afghan refugees who sent the pictures said they were being kept in the sweltering heat where several people had fainted as they waited in long queues to use the toilet or receive food and water.

Most did not have any spare clothes and were unaware of what their final destinations would be.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the US is working on improving conditions for Afghan evacuees. Responding to the reports, Kirby said nobody was making excuses for the conditions at the base.

"Everybody's focused on trying" to improve the conditions, Kirby told Axios on Tuesday.

On Friday, a US Central Command (Centcom) official had launched a scathing attack in an internal email obtained by Axios over the deplorable conditions and treatment of Afghan refugees at the American-run facilities in Qatar.

The email – subject line "Dire conditions at Doha"- described human waste and rubbish threatening to overwhelm the hangar where refugees were housed, as well as an infestation of rats. It went to officials at the State Department and the Pentagon and described "a life-threatening humanitarian disaster".

"While not in any way downplaying the conditions in Kabul nor the conditions the Afghanis [sic] are escaping from, the current conditions in Doha are of our own doing," he said.

He also shared excerpts from communication from US embassy staff in Doha, including one note that read: "A humid day today. Where the Afghans are housed is a living hell. Trash, urine, fecal matter, spilled liquids and vomit cover the floors."

Responding to reports, William Urban, a spokesperson for Centcom said: "We recognise this is a challenging and difficult situation for these vulnerable individuals and families, and we remain committed to providing a secure, safe and sanitary environment."

A US Department of State spokesperson told Axios they were working to reduce bottlenecks and have deployed extra staff to Qatar "to alleviate current conditions".

Meanwhile, staff at the US embassy in Kabul also harshly criticised the treatment of Afghan refugees at American-run facilities in Qatar, according to the Middle East Eye website.

According to the cable sent by embassy staff, refugees who arrived at the US base were being kept in "un-airconditioned housing with too few lavatories – especially for women".