Portugal continues to offer shelter to fleeing Afghans.
After the initial arrivals last month (click here), another 80 arrived on Sunday – the majority members of the country’s (former) women’s football team and their families.
In a joint communiqué, the ministries of national defence, foreign affairs, the presidency and administration say the group arrived as a result of an operation that involved Portuguese authorities and the North Americans.
Elsewhere, international reports have described how the former Afghan youth football team, their trainers and family members recently escaped the Taliban by entering Pakistan.
As with other refugees before them, Portugal’s new arrivals will be provisionally housed in reception units in Greater Lisbon and then transferred to ‘autonomous housing’ across the country.
Portugal has already made it clear it is willing to receive well over 400 Afghans.
So far, 178 have arrived, thus further new arrivals will be on the way.
Minister for Interior Administration Eduardo Cabrita has said ‘priorities’ will be women, children, human rights activists and female judges and journalists.
 women’s football team){kind=link}