Afghan Evacuees in Qatar Oppose Resettlement to DR Congo

' Rasouly moved from house to house in fear for his life in the three years before his evacuation. U.S. and allied forces in western Afghanistan, arrived at Camp As Sayliyah in January 2025. Shabnam, with her three-year-old son, has never left the camp since arriving in Qatar.

She said camp residents had received no official information about the DR Congo resettlement and stated, 'Our concern is safety... U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, has lived on Camp As Sayliyah with his family for over a year.

Mahmoud said, 'different rumours have circulated,' whether about resettlement or the camp's closure, and added, 'Rumours such as sending people to the Democratic Republic of the Congo... ' Afghans at Camp As Sayliyah spoke to AFP by messaging app or over the phone, and Rasouly and other Afghans asked to be identified by pseudonyms for fear of endangering family still in Afghanistan or prejudicing resettlement cases.

Iranian attacks on Gulf neighbours occurred in March and April 2026, during which missiles streaked the skies and blasts reverberated across Doha.

U.S. bases during these attacks, raising fears among Afghan residents at Camp As Sayliyah, although the base is no longer active. Inhabitants at Camp As Sayliyah witnessed interceptions in the sky and heard loud explosions during the Iranian attacks.

In one incident during the Iranian attacks, debris nearly landed inside Camp As Sayliyah and struck one of the neighbour's rooms. ' She continued, 'Many of us came here to escape conflict... ' Camp inhabitants live in cramped, windowless containers and are only able to leave for serious medical emergencies.

The State Department confirmed in February 2026 that Washington had offered Camp As Sayliyah inhabitants cash to return to Afghanistan. Roughly 150 individuals at Camp As Sayliyah took the cash payments to return to Afghanistan, with authorities offering $4,500 per main applicant and $1,200 per dependent to return.