Top GOP leader Michael McCaul claims over 500 US-employed journalists stuck in Afghanistan

Senior Republican leader at the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, accused the USA of abandoning over 500 journalists and their families in Afghanistan.

McCaul informed that all these journalists were employed at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). He said it was a "disgrace" that the US State Department claimed to evacuate all local employees from Afghanistan when in reality, all the journalists have been deserted in the war-torn nation. 

"It is absolutely disgraceful the US State Department claimed they evacuated their local employees when in reality they abandoned hundreds of USAGM journalists and their families",  Michael McCaul stated in a press release.

"Some of these journalists were given express assurances by the Biden Administration that they would be treated as locally employed staff – but were not", he added.

McCaul said that it was due to the efforts of their allies and not the US authorities that about 50 employees of USAGM were evacuated. He mentioned that the US government had not evacuated the journalists out of the war-ravaged nation despite making an assurance. He added that his office was working with one of these journalists and informed that he had sought the attention to help one of the journalists and his family but his pleas were ignored. He urged US President Joe Biden and the US State Department to ensure the safe passage of the journalists.

"My office was working with one of these journalists and tried for two weeks to get attention brought to his case so he, his wife, and his infant child could be saved but our pleas were ignored", he said in the press release. 

'We did not forget about USAGM employees': Ned Price

As the United States completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that over 123,000 people have been evacuated from the war-ravaged nation. While responding to a question about USAGM, he asserted that the department is "committed to the safety of those who have done service on behalf of the American people", including those who have worked for USAGM.

Price said that the Biden administration worked round the clock for the past two weeks in order to evacuate the people. He informed that they tried to evacuate as many people as they could and "as the situation outside of the airport grew increasingly dangerous, we advised individuals to shelter in place, as we continued to develop departure options". 

"We did not forget about USAGM employees and their families, nor will we. These individuals have served the United States. They have not only worked for us, they have worked with us, and we remain keenly focused on getting them out safely just as soon as we can. We will remain focused on that", Price said in a press briefing.

(Image: AP)