Evacuation from Afghanistan: around 6100 people flown out to date

The evacuation operation has so far brought about 6100 people from Afghanistan to Germany. Among them are hundreds of local staff who have worked for the German Armed Forces, for example.

Around 6100 people have so far been brought to Germany by the evacuation campaign from Afghanistan. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. A ministry spokesman said 5208 of them were Afghans and 543 German citizens. Accordingly, there are also 349 local employees who previously worked for the German Armed Forces or German authorities in Afghanistan.

The German government has come under fire for not having flown out local Afghan workers and other vulnerable Afghans before the radical Islamic Taliban came to power in mid-August. A military airlift for these people to leave Kabul airport only existed until the end of August. Then the US Army, which had protected the airport in the capital Kabul, withdrew and with it the Western partner countries.

Many are now fleeing overland

Many people are now trying to get to neighboring countries such as Pakistan by land and then come to Germany. According to a spokesman for the Foreign Office, German missions in neighboring countries of Afghanistan have issued around 830 visas for local staff and other people in need of protection since the end of the military evacuation.

According to this, Germany is working with the governments of neighboring countries and other actors in the region on further options for leaving the country. “We are very specific in preparations for further options for departure, with which we hope to be able to accelerate this process significantly again,” he said.