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A street in Kunduz after a skirmish between the Taliban and Afghan security forces
Photo: Abdullah Sahil / AP
Because of the threatening situation in Afghanistan, the Minister of State in the Foreign Office, Niels Annen, expects an increasing number of refugees from the region - also in Germany. »It is naive to believe that the advance of the Taliban and the violence in the war region have no consequences for migration policy. People from Afghanistan will have to flee even more than in previous years, «said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. "We will feel the effects in Germany as well, even if not in the coming weeks." Germany is "an attractive target country for Afghans," emphasized the Minister of State.
The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated dramatically since the decision to withdraw international troops from Afghanistan in mid-April.
The militant Islamist Taliban have now regained control of large parts of the country.
It was not until Wednesday that the Taliban captured the airport and a large military base in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan.
Around a hundred German soldiers were stationed at the base the previous year.
Deportation stop from Germany
Due to the situation, Germany is no longer deporting rejected asylum seekers there. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) announced the move on Wednesday. In a constitutional state, deportations are an important part of migration policy. "But a constitutional state is also responsible for ensuring that deportations do not pose a threat to those involved," said Seehofer. "The security situation on site is currently changing so rapidly that we can neither meet this responsibility for the returnees, nor for the escorts and the aircraft crew."
The current suspension of deportations to Afghanistan is not a blanket ban on deportation, as was the case for Syria for years.
Before the ban on deportation for Syria expired at the end of the year, it was repeatedly extended by the state interior ministers in agreement with the federal government.
On the other hand, Seehofer could allow deportations to Afghanistan again at short notice.
mrc / dpa