The UK secretly brought thousands of Afghan citizens to Britain after their details were accidentally leaked.
Following the Western withdrawal in 2021, London set up clandestine programs to help Afghans who assisted allied forces during the war to leave the country, fearing they or their families would be targeted by the Taliban. But in 2022, a spreadsheet of 18,700 applicants’ names was put on Facebook. The UK government obtained a controversial legal ban on reporting on the issue, and has spent billions relocating nearly 7,000 people.
Interpreters, fixers, and other Afghans who worked with Western forces during the 20-year conflict were deemed “conspirators” by the Taliban, Al Jazeera reported in 2021: Many have been killed, detained, or tortured.