As of: 08/30/2021 2:06 p.m.
During its evacuation mission, which has now ended, the Bundeswehr brought 138 local Afghan workers with 496 members to Germany. In total there are tens of thousands of requests for help.
According to preliminary information, the airlift from Kabul organized by the federal government brought 138 local workers and their family members to Germany. They were accompanied by 496 relatives. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said a total of 634 people from this group were flown out.
Before the evacuation began on August 14, the Federal Ministry of the Interior was aware that 174 local staff and family members were waiting for the entire federal government to leave, a total of 886 people, the spokesman said. It was about the Afghans who had actively reported a threat and were on lists.
But these lists were not complete: During the evacuations there were “a lot of late reports” from the ministries and also from the local staff, including for family members. That is why it is assumed “that the proportion of those who have a connection to local staff for the entire federal government is now more than 40,000 people”.
Most vulnerable people on the list
In the past, the principle has always been that local staff have to report and report their endangerment themselves. Lately there have been a lot of reports.
According to a spokesman for the Foreign Office, there is a high four-digit number in addition to the more than 40,000 people for which Germany is responsible. This group includes particularly vulnerable people – such as human rights activists, and their relatives who have been promised to leave the country.
Stopover in Tashkent: shortly after landing, members of the armed forces escort the people who have flown out of an Airbus A400M.
Image: dpa
The exact number was unclear for a long time
For a long time it was unclear how many local personnel the Bundeswehr had flown out. At the weekend, the “Welt am Sonntag” reported that only around 100 local staff and their families were on board the Bundeswehr aircraft during the German evacuation mission. The sheet relied on figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had already rejected this report. At the airlift, significantly more than 100 local workers were evacuated, he said.
In addition, “Zeit” and “Spiegel” reported that 189 persons in need of protection who were on the lists of the Foreign Office were only able to leave because the private rescue initiative “Kabul Airlift” had brought them to the airport. There they were then flown out by the US military.
A total of 4587 people flown out
In total, the Bundeswehr brought 4587 people to Germany during their evacuation mission, which has now ended. According to the Interior Ministry, these included 3849 Afghans, 403 Germans and people from other countries.
There were also those seeking protection who were flown from other countries to other countries. “Nobody stood in front of a German plane and counted and said that we will only take those who come to Germany with us and those who have to go to Italy or Belgium, we will leave them here,” said the spokesman. The exact number is not yet known, according to the spokesman for the BMI.