Dozens of Afghan asylum seekers were repatriated from Germany
A midnight flight on Wednesday (July 4) repatriated 69 Afghan nationals whose asylum applications had been rejected in Germany. Among the men repatriated were five criminals.
A plane carrying 69 Afghan refugees whose asylum applications were rejected in Germany left Munich for Afghanistan at midnight on Wednesday (July 4). The plane landed in Kabul on Wednesday morning, according to refugee rights organizations.
Joachim Herrmann, the Bavarian Interior Minister, announced that 51 of the refugees were from Bavaria. "Anyone who has to leave the country and does not want to do so must be prepared to be transferred to their country at any time," the Bavarian Interior Minister said.
The Bavarian Minister of the Interior further emphasized that anyone who tries to prevent this action by the state government is committing an illegal act.
Largest number of Afghan refugees deported from Germany
The German news agency reported that the transfer of 69 Afghan citizens to their country was the largest refugee transfer in the country to date. There is still no reliable information about the identities of the other passengers on the plane.
Nine German states were involved in the recent relocation of refugees to their home country. Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria, noted that based on a recent German government report on the situation in Afghanistan, the relocation of Afghan refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected in Germany “could be carried out indefinitely.”
Bavarian state authorities also announced that among the 69 Afghan men who were repatriated were five criminals, and that 134 police officers were involved in the operation to repatriate the refugees. Germany has repatriated around 300 Afghan refugees since 2016.
Report from the German Foreign Ministry on the situation in Afghanistan
The German Foreign Ministry's report on the situation in Afghanistan was a confidential report. Some German media outlets that had access to parts of the report wrote that the report also addressed major problems in the country.
The report is said to have stated that in addition to war-torn areas, there are also areas in Afghanistan that are more stable, and that the number of civilian casualties in various attacks and conflicts in the country has decreased.
Reaction of refugee advocacy organizations
German human rights organizations such as ProAzoll and the Bavarian State Refugee Council criticized the transfer of refugees to Afghanistan, stating that even refugees who have fully integrated into German society are now being returned to their country.
The human rights organization "ProAzul", which has repeatedly stated its opposition to the return of Afghan refugees to their country, rejects the idea that the situation in Afghanistan has improved and believes that the situation in this war-torn country is not safe at all.
Opponents of deporting Afghan refugees to their country point to threats from the Taliban in Afghanistan and the fact that Taliban jihadists have rejected the Afghan government's call for peace and continue their attacks on security forces and local governments.
Afghan military officials believe that more than 14 percent of the country is still under the control of Taliban fighters, and they are trying to seize another 30 percent of Afghan territory. This is while the terrorist movement "Islamic State" (ISIS) also regularly carries out large-scale attacks against government forces.
Source: DW
