Online lodging, homestays, vacation rentals service providers Airbnb has announced to provide free housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees, reports CNN.

California-based company’s CEO Brian Chesky on Tuesday said that the company will pay for the stays and they would start the programme soon.

Taking to Twitter, Chesky said the crisis in Afghanistan would force displacement and resettlement of Afghans in the US and elsewhere and it is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. He added it was time to step up.

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The CEO said his company would work with NGOs and its nonprofit arm, Airbnb.org, to help people.

CNN reached out to the company for details but did not receive any response. There are no details of how long refugees would be housed, or how long the company would fund their stays. 

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Ever since the Taliban took control of Kabul and the fall of Afghan government, tens of thousands of people are trying to leave Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of most of the provinces just weeks before complete withdrawal of US troops from the country. US President Joe Biden, earlier this year, announced complete withdrawal of troop by September 11. Many countries have evacuated their citizens and even Afghan nationals.

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The refugee crisis is result of decades of conflict in Afghanistan. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are almost 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees.

The United States and the United Kingdom and other countries have pledged to help Afghans. Many NGOs, religious groups and local governments are also helping the refugees.

Chesky said that he hopes that his move inspires other business leaders to do the same.