Which countries border Afghanistan and can refugees go there?
AFGHANS desperate to flee the Taliban as the US withdrawal from the country gets nearer are increasingly using land routes out of the country.
Emergency flights out of Kabul airport are trickling to a close leaving few options open to those wanting to find safety.
Which countries border Afghanistan?
The UN has urged Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to enable safe passage out.
It said: “At this stage, our primary concern is that Afghans who are seeking safety can reach it, including borders and into neighbouring countries if needed.
“The UNHCR is calling on all countries neighbouring Afghanistan to keep their borders open in light of the intensifying crisis in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in June said that the border would be closed with Afghanistan if the Taliban seized control of the country.
However, it appears that at least one route has remained open allowing refugees into the country.
Khan told the New York Times he did not want another influx of Afghan refugees coming to Pakistan as the country was already struggling to cope with the 3million Afghans already living there.
Officials though have since confirmed the existence of temporary camps along the border to help those fleeing the Taliban.
Iran
Emergency shelter and tents have been set up in the three Iranian provinces along the 560-mile border with Afghanistan.
The country is preparing to provide the essentials for those in need.
Iran’s interior ministry though has instructed border forces to prevent entry into the country.
It has said that once conditions improve in Afghanistan any refugees from the country would “be repatriated”.
According to the non-profit organisation ACAPS, between 2.1 and 2.5million registered Afghan refugees already live in Iran and it estimates there are around 780,000 undocumented ones.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan has said it is preparing to welcome 100,000 Afghan refugees and will also accept soldiers from the Afghan National Army.
Refugees will be housed in camps set up in the provinces which border Afghanistan and two large warehouses are being constructed to store supplies for those in need.
After the Taliban seized control of the border Tajikistan has put on alert 100,000 soldiers, 130,000 reservists and Russian servicemen stationed along the border.
Turkmenistan
Armed troops have already been deployed along the 500-mile border with Afghanistan.
The move has effectively cut off Turkmenistan as a place of safety for Afghans.
The Taliban targeted the country last month when it seized a checkpoint and reportedly killed 18 servicemen.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry has threatened that any attempt to cross the border “illegally” will be “suppressed harshly”.
Prosecutors have claimed two dozen Afghan planes and helicopters carrying Afghan National Army servicemen have crossed the border illegally.
However it is still welcoming refugees into the country.
One of the airports in the capital Tashkent has been closed to allow evacuation planes from Kabul to land and move passengers onto flights out of the country.
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Hundreds of Afghans are said to have already crossed the border along the Friendship Bridge and they are being housed in tents that have been put up.
It has been estimated 1,500 people have already crossed the border and many more are expected in the coming weeks.