​The Biden administration is planning to evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters and support staff who worked side-by-side with US forces during the war in Afghanistan to other countries before the US pulls out its forces in September so they can wait out their visa applications without fear of reprisals by the Taliban.

The administration is expected to begin the evacuation in August, an operation that would involve moving as many 50,000 people, including the interpreters and their families.

Many of them have already begun applying for special immigration visas that were available for the people who helped US troops during the 20-year war.

They feared being left behind in Afghanistan without protection against the Taliban, which considers​ them turncoats and spies, and would likely kill anyone who assisted the US military and their families.​

Taliban fighters, using the void created by the exiting US troops, have launched new offensives to seize control of territory in northern Afghanistan, including taking control of many provincial capitals.

Many observers fear that the Taliban will overrun the country once US and NATO troops leave Afghanistan​ that would leave the interpreters at the mercy of the militant group​.

“You will see the dead bodies in every street,” Omid Mahmoodi, who worked as an interpreter and cultural adviser with the U.S. military for three years, told the USA Today. “They will slaughter us.”

President Biden, who announced that he would complete the troop withdrawal by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, will meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, at the White House on Friday.

“Those who helped us are not going to be left behind,” Biden told reporters on Thursday when asked about the plan.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Thursday said planning on the logistics to evacuate the thousands of Afghans is still ongoing and he was unable to elaborate on details​. ​

“The point is that we are taking this seriously here at the department and here in the United States government. We know we have an obligation to these men and women, and their families, and we’re working our way through how best to meet that obligation. Again, planning is ongoing, lots of options available both in terms of transportation in terms of potential locations, and we’re just not there yet,” he said.​

The future of the Afghans has been a huge concern for Congress​ and the impending crisis only loomed larger as the deadline for the withdrawal neared, leading lawmakers and veterans to press the Biden administration to come up with a plan.

Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said “there’s no way to expedite their visas in-country … on a timely basis that would save their lives.”

McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters that while it will create the “optics” that Afghanistan is “imploding, the decision has been made to pull out our military forces and so this really needs to be part of the preparation and planning.”

The Afghans can apply for a special visa program created by Congress in 2006 for Afghans and Iraqis who worked with US troops.

“We have a moral obligation to protect our brave allies who put their lives on the line for us, and we’ve been working for months to engage the administration and make sure there’s a plan, with few concrete results,” Rep. Peter Meijer​ (R-Mich.) said during a House hearing last week.

With Post wires