Canada will accept and resettle some 5,000 Afghan refugees who had been evacuated by the United States after the withdrawal of troops following two decades of an unsuccessful war that ended with a Taliban takeover.

"We're pulling out all the stops to help as many Afghans as possible who want to make their home in Canada," said Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino. "Over the weekend, Canada and its allies received assurances from the Taliban that Afghan citizens with travel authorization from other countries would be safely allowed to leave Afghanistan."

The Canadian forces in Kabul ended their efforts to evacuate citizens and Afghans last Thursday, ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.

The country had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of about 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens.

Earlier in August, the Canadian government announced that it was prepared to welcome up to 20,000 Afghan refugees in response to the emerging humanitarian crisis in the region.