With the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan the Islamist Taliban keep advancing and conquer numerous areas. The messages at a glance:
For the time being, Germany is no longer deporting people to Afghanistan. “Due to the current developments in the security situation, the Federal Interior Minister decided to suspend deportations to Afghanistan for the time being,” a spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry told the German Press Agency on Wednesday.
A deportation of six Afghans that was postponed last week will initially not be made up for. 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 nine provincial capitals.
Seehofer’s move is a U-turn. The German interior minister and his counterparts from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece recently wrote a letter to the EU Commission. In it, the ministers warned against suspending deportations. Because that would “send the wrong signal and probably motivate even more Afghans to leave their homeland for the EU,” they say in the three-page letter.
The EU ambassadors represented in Kabul had only spoken out in favor of stopping deportations on Tuesday. Among them was the German representative, who thus assumed a different position from Interior Minister Seehofer. 26 organizations, including Amnesty International, Pro Asyl, Caritas and Diakonie, pleaded for a stop in a joint declaration. “Germany must not turn a blind eye to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and must stop all deportations,” says the appeal. “The rule of law means that human rights principles are observed.” The international law non-rejection requirement, which is derived from the absolute prohibition of torture and prohibits deportations in the event of the most serious human rights violations to be expected, is one of them: “This prohibition of deportation applies regardless of individual behavior.”
Report: US intelligence agencies expect Kabul to fall soon
Given the rapid advance of the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, the capital Kabul could fall into the hands of the insurgents much earlier than previously assumed by the USA, according to a newspaper report. The city could collapse in 30 to 90 days, reports the Washington Post citing unnamed sources in US intelligence.
As recently as June, US intelligence officials had assessed the situation in such a way that Kabul could come under the control of the Taliban within six to twelve months after the withdrawal of the US military. “Everything is moving in the wrong direction,” quoted the Washington Post an expert familiar with the new military assessment. (08/11/2021)
Biden: Afghans have to fight the Taliban themselves
According to the US government, the advance of the militant Islamist Taliban is now a problem for Afghans. In view of the largely complete withdrawal of international troops, US President Joe Biden said that the Afghans now have to “fight for their own state”. Their armed forces are militarily superior to the Taliban, also in terms of troop strength. “But they must also want to fight,” Biden said in the White House.
The US President appealed to the political leadership in Kabul to pull together. Literally he said: “I think they are beginning to understand that they have to come together politically at the top.” Biden promised that the US would continue to support the Afghan security forces financially and militarily. He is informed of the situation every day.
With a view to the withdrawal of the US soldiers ordered by him, the President added: “But I do not regret my decision.” At the time of the decision, the US still had around 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan. The withdrawal is now more than 95 percent complete. The armed forces have meanwhile flown out material, that of the cargo of around 984 Boeing transport aircraft C-17 the US military said. The withdrawal should be completely finished by the end of the month. The Bundeswehr and soldiers from other NATO countries have already left Afghanistan.
Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US government would continue to provide financial support to the Afghan security forces. For the coming year, 3.3 billion US dollars (2.8 billion euros) are planned for in the draft budget. Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan because the original goal of the invasion almost 20 years ago – to repel the terror group al-Qaeda – had long been achieved. “He made decisions as commander-in-chief – and those are difficult decisions,” said Psaki. (08/11/2021)
Another provincial capital falls to the Taliban
In Afghanistan, the militant Islamist Taliban have taken another provincial capital. The 250,000-inhabitant city of Pul-i Chumri in Baghlan province in the north of the country fell to the Islamists on Tuesday, three provincial councils confirmed. The land route between the capital Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif is now cut off. In total, the Islamists already have nine provincial capitals under control.
According to Provincial Councilor Firusuddin Aimak, government forces left the city on Tuesday evening without further resistance. Several commanders and other officials had already left Pul-i Chumri ten or 15 days ago and announced that they would attack the Islamists from another route. The remaining forces would have withstood a few more days, but have now withdrawn to a military base outside.
Pul-i Chumri is located on an important overland road between Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, where the Bundeswehr had a base until recently. The city is the second largest city in the northeast of the country after Kunduz. (08/10/2021)
NATO calls on the Taliban to stop their attacks
NATO regards the violent advance of the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan as worrying. The high level of violence by the Taliban in its offensive, including attacks on civilians and reports of human rights violations, is viewed with “deep concern,” said a NATO official. The Taliban had to understand that the international community would never recognize them if they refused to go to the political process and wanted to conquer the country by force. “You must stop your attacks and participate honestly in peace talks.”
The conflict cannot be resolved militarily, it said. A peace process under Afghan leadership must promote a ceasefire and a political solution. In particular, it must safeguard the human rights of women, children and minorities and ensure that Afghanistan “will never again become a safe haven for terrorists”. NATO calls on all regional actors to contribute constructively, as everyone would benefit from a safe and stable Afghanistan.
The US is pressing for a political solution. The US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had left for Qatar to “persuade the Taliban to end their military offensive and to negotiate a political solution,” said the US State Department. In the three-day talks, the US wants to work with representatives of countries in the region as well as with multilateral organizations to reduce violence and a ceasefire and commit to not recognizing any violent government, it said. Khalilzad was instrumental in negotiating the modalities of the withdrawal of US troops with the Taliban. (08/10/2021)
Scholz: The federal government is looking for solutions for local Afghan workers
According to Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the federal government is trying to save Afghan armed forces and their families from the violent advance of the Taliban more quickly. “We are discussing whether there are ways to speed up the transport so that those affected can be flown out more quickly,” said the SPD candidate for chancellor New Osnabrück Newspaper. Intensive efforts were made. “Germany cannot decide that on its own, it is a matter of close coordination with the Afghan government.” Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised more support for the local staff and, among other things, brought up charter flights to fly out helpers with their families.
Meanwhile, critics continue to accuse Germany of not helping the helpers, on whom the Bundeswehr was dependent, quickly enough. “The half-hearted support of the federal government for Afghan local staff, who have supported the Bundeswehr every day in their 20-year mission, is shameful,” said FDP parliamentary deputy Alexander Graf Lambsdorff world.
The Taliban, which controlled large parts of Afghanistan from 1996 to the US-led intervention in 2001, are currently conquering one provincial capital after another – including Kunduz, where the Bundeswehr had a large base for years. At the end of June, after almost 20 years, the Bundeswehr withdrew the last soldiers from Afghanistan. The US armed forces are expected to leave the country by the end of August.
Scholz rejects the proposal of another military operation, as brought up by the CDU foreign politician Norbert Röttgen at the weekend. “I think another military operation in Afghanistan is not indicated,” he told the NOZ. “After 20 years, the international community has just withdrawn. There are no efforts at national or international level for a renewed commitment.” The Federal Ministry of Defense had also previously rejected such considerations. (08/10/2021)