Rwanda will host dozens of schoolgirls being relocated from Afghanistan following the takeover of their country by Taliban militants.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh, the founder of a privately-run School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) on Tuesday said about 250 students, staff and family members were en-route to Rwanda, through Qatar, to begin a “semester abroad for our entire student body”.

Rwanda’s education ministry tweeted a message to welcome the SOLA community to the country:

The school founder said they hoped to resettle temporarily for only a semester and return to Afghanistan when the situation would permit.

Afghans have been growing desperate to leave their country, in fear of living under Taliban rule, and thousands have been evacuated to other countries.

The Taliban, which enforced a strict version of Islamic law when they ran Afghanistan before 2001, retook full control of the country more than a week ago.