Afghan evacuation raises concerns about child trafficking

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials are looking into reports that in the frantic evacuation of desperate Afghans from Kabul, older men were admitted together with young girls they claimed as “brides” or otherwise sexually abused. U.S. officials at intake centers in the United Arab Emirates and in Wisconsin have identified numerous incidents in which Afghan girls have been presented to authorities as the “wives” of much older men. One internal document described to The Associated Press by officials familiar with it says Afghan girls have alleged they have been raped by older men they were forced to marry in order to escape Afghanistan.