Germany Once Again Returns a Group of Afghans to Afghanistan
The German government, despite protests and criticism, has once again returned a number of Afghan citizens to their country. The forced return of Afghan refugees and migrants began in December 2016.
The German news agency reported on Wednesday, the 6th of Shahrivar (August 28), citing Kabul airport authorities, that an aircraft from Germany carrying 31 deported Afghans landed at the airport at 9 a.m. local time.
This was the 27th collective deportation of Afghan citizens from Germany since December 2016. To date, a total of 645 people have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan against their will.
The forced return of Afghan citizens to their country has faced considerable criticism. Critics argue that Afghanistan is not a safe country given the escalated activities of the Taliban extremist group and the terrorist organization ISIS, which claim victims every day.
Coinciding with the forced return of the 27th group of Afghan migrants to Kabul, Reuters reported, citing local authorities, that on Wednesday at least 14 members of pro-central government forces were killed by Taliban militia.
It is also reported that in an attack by Taliban forces on a checkpoint of government military personnel in Herat province in southern Afghanistan, several civilians were wounded.
In recent months, the number of civilian casualties in military clashes in Afghanistan has been rising. The United Nations estimates that in July alone, 1,500 civilians were killed and wounded in Afghanistan.
July, Afghanistan’s Bloodiest Month
According to the United Nations, this was the bloodiest month in Afghanistan since May 2017. Accordingly, the number of civilian casualties in July was nearly half of all deaths in the first half of 2019.
About ten days ago (August 27), following a suicide attack on a wedding ceremony in a Shiite area of Kabul, 63 people were killed and more than 180 were wounded. The responsibility for this attack was claimed by ISIS terrorists.
So far, Taliban representatives and the United States government have held extensive talks to reach a political solution to end the crisis in Afghanistan.
The ninth round of these negotiations began last week, and after that, both sides expressed optimism about reaching an agreement in the near future. Despite these negotiations, the Taliban has not halted its military operations.
America and Taliban on the Brink of Final Agreement
The French news agency reported on Tuesday, the 5th of Shahrivar, at the end of the fifth day of a new round of talks between American and Taliban representatives in Qatar, citing Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the extremist Islamists, that the negotiations between the two sides are being finalized.
A final agreement between the United States and the Taliban is expected to pave the way for direct talks between the Islamists and the Afghan central government. The United States has announced its readiness to withdraw its military personnel from Afghanistan after finalizing an agreement with the Taliban.
Washington has, however, made the withdrawal of its military personnel from Afghanistan contingent on the Taliban fulfilling commitments, including not cooperating with the al-Qaeda network and other terrorist groups, adhering to a ceasefire, and halting military operations.
The forced return of Afghan migrants and refugees from Germany has faced considerable domestic and international criticism. Dominique Bartsch, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Berlin, requested on June 16 that the German government make the implementation of the policy of returning Afghan migrants to Afghanistan conditional on case-by-case review. He believes that a large part of Afghanistan, including Kabul, is not safe for deported Afghan migrants.
Source: DW
