Europe fears Afghan refugee crisis after Taliban takeover

By KARL RITTER and MEHMET GUZEL
Associated Press

HANGEDIGI, Turkey (AP) — European Union leaders haunted by a 2015 migration crisis fueled by the Syrian war desperately want to avoid a large-scale influx of refugees and migrants from Afghanistan. Their message to any Afghans except for those who helped Western forces in the two-decade war against the Taliban is: If you must leave, go to neighboring countries. Britain, which no longer is an EU member, said it would welcome 5,000 Afghan refugees this year and a total of 20,000 in coming years. Besides that, there have been few concrete offers from European countries. Even in Turkey, migrants from Syria and Afghanistan who once were treated like Muslim brethren are increasingly viewed with suspicion.