UAE to temporarily host 5,000 evacuated Afghans en route elsewhere

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan nationals to be evacuated from their country on their way to third countries, the UAE's embassy in the United States said on Twitter on Friday.

The evacuees will travel to the UAE from Kabul on U.S. aircraft in coming days, it said.

The UAE government announced on Wednesday it was hosting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his family "on humanitarian grounds" after they fled Kabul.

The UAE and regional ally Saudi Arabia have limited their response to the Taliban takeover of Kabul to saying they would respect the choice of Afghans and urging the Taliban to foster security and stability after a 20-year insurgency against U.S.-backed rule.