A feminine service member was assaulted by worldwide “evacuees” being housed at Fort Bliss in New Mexico, the Military mentioned in a press release Friday evening.
Lt. Col. Allie M. Payne mentioned within the assertion the Sept. 19 assault and was carried out “by a small group of male evacuees on the Doña Ana Advanced in New Mexico.”
The sufferer was supplied “acceptable care, counseling and help,” he mentioned. The attackers weren’t described as Afghans, however Payne mentioned the lady was working as a part of Operation Allies Welcome, which the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety describes as an “effort to resettle Afghan refugees.”
Particulars in regards to the assault and the extent of the lady’s doable accidents weren’t launched, and Payne didn’t say whether or not anybody was arrested.
“Job Pressure-Bliss can also be implementing extra safety measures to incorporate elevated well being and security patrols, extra lighting, and enforcement of the buddy system on the Doña Ana Advanced,” Payne mentioned.
The FBI was investigating the assault, he mentioned. An FBI spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for extra data.
The Doña Ana Advanced is a part of Fort Bliss in New Mexico and Texas alongside the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The security and well-being of our service members, in addition to all of these on our installations, is paramount,” Payne mentioned.
Earlier Friday former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, the White Home coordinator for Operation Allies Welcome, mentioned Afghan evacuees have been usually well-vetted. He was not requested in regards to the assault.
“The administration has established plenty of robust screening and vetting and public well being measures to maintain each our residents and our allies alike as protected as doable,” Markell mentioned throughout a press name that included Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-New Mexico, disagreed. She mentioned in a press release that the assault was “yet one more tragic failure within the vetting course of for Afghan nationals dropped at America.”
The USA withdrew from Afghanistan Aug. 30, ending an unsuccessful 20-year struggle meant to snuff out terrorist hideouts and produce democracy to the area. The USA has accepted 64,000 Afghan evacuees, most of whom are mentioned to be “humanitarian parolees.”
