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Berlin-Germany must urgently evacuate up to 10,000 people from responsible Afghanistan, Angela Merkel told a party colleague that the effects of the conflict would last for a very long time.
Remarks made at a private meeting of the Christian Democratic Party on Monday and relayed by participants in the meeting reflect growing concerns about bloodshed in Afghanistan after the Taliban terrorists occupied the capital and declared peace. ing.
“We are witnessing a difficult time,” Merkel said. “Now we have to focus on the rescue mission.”
Merkel said that those in need of evacuation include 2,500 Afghan support staff, human rights activists, lawyers, and others who the government considers to be at risk if they stay in the country, up to a total. He said it would be 10,000.
She also said Berlin should work with countries bordering Afghanistan to help those who are now fleeing, adding that “this topic will keep us busy for a very long time.”
However, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) general secretary Paul Zimiak said Germany could not correct the situation in Afghanistan by repeating the open immigration policy it pursued in 2015. ..
Germany opened its borders to more than a million migrants six years ago, many of whom were Syrians, fleeing war and poverty. This was a bold move, winning Merkel’s international praise, but controversial domestically and eroding the party’s position.
“It’s clear to us that 2015 shouldn’t be repeated,” Ziemiak told broadcaster n-tv. “Migration to Germany cannot solve Afghanistan’s problems.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in power since 2005 and will resign after Germany’s September 26 federal elections. Armin Laschet, a candidate for the CDU’s prime minister in the election, said Afghanistan was the biggest blunder since NATO was formed.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karenbauer told the conference that Germany had deployed special forces and paratroopers to assist in evacuation, adding that it was a “very dangerous operation” for the German army.
“As long as that is possible, the German army will take as many people out of Afghanistan as possible and keep the air bridge,” she said, relying on the US willingness to keep the airport open. Added.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a regular government press conference on Monday that there are currently no evacuation flights leaving Kabul Airport as desperate people trying to flee the country are blocking the tarmac. rice field.
Forty staff from the German embassy were sent to Doha overnight, a spokesman said, adding that a small team of less than 10 staff would remain at Kabul Airport to coordinate evacuation.
Andreas Linke
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