Quite a few local workers hope to be rescued in Kabul - but statements by the Bundeswehr give little hope

According to the Bundeswehr, it is unclear whether the Afghan local staff can be helped - also because of failures of German policy.

The federal government wants to negotiate with the Taliban.

Berlin / Kabul - The reports from the airport in Kabul change every hour.

After the Afghan capital was captured by the Taliban, thousands of people fled out of fear of death.

On Tuesday evening (August 17th) it seemed more than unclear whether everyone could be helped.

Afghanistan: Little hope for local workers - "If we save someone else, we will be very lucky"

Bundeswehr captain Marcus Grotian has little hope that local staff from Afghanistan can still be brought to Germany. "If we can save anyone here at all, then we'll be very lucky," said Grotian from the Afghan local staff sponsorship network on Tuesday in Berlin. The Taliban had surrounded the airport in Kabul. "We get countless messages every second, every minute, every hour," said Grotian. He will never forget these calls for help.

Grotian, who worked for the German Armed Forces in Afghanistan, also speaks of a political responsibility.

Politicians and bureaucrats just implemented the rules and didn't help.

“Bureaucracy to the end.

If you didn't fill out the correct application three times, you wouldn't be thrown a lifebuoy, ”said Grotian.

If one had tried to save human lives instead, then today we would not speak of 8,000 people who were left behind, but perhaps of 30. The pressure on politics is growing.

Afghanistan: German government wants to negotiate with Taliban

The German government has meanwhile announced that it intends to negotiate with the Taliban about the evacuation of Afghan aid workers from the German armed forces and federal ministries. The criticized Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) * said on Tuesday in Berlin that Ambassador Markus Potzel had been sent to Qatar to meet with Taliban representatives. Maas pointed out that the Americans are already talking to the Taliban about the evacuation of former and current Afghan employees. In his talks in Doha, Potzel will work towards “creating the possibility that local staff can also go to the airport”.

The Taliban have set up checkpoints near the airport and, according to the Foreign Minister, only let foreigners through. According to him, there are currently 180 people at the airport who are to be flown out with Bundeswehr machines. Two evacuation flights with a total of 129 passengers from 15 countries to neighboring Uzbekistan have already taken place. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) said that people would be flown out of Kabul for as long as possible.