Germany said it carried out Friday the first deportation of Afghans back to their home country since Taliban authorities took power in August 2021, as Berlin faces pressure to crack down on migration.
“These were Afghan nationals, all of whom were convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.
A chartered Qatar Airways flight bound for Kabul took off from Leipzig airport just before 0500 GMT with 28 Afghans on board, Der Spiegel magazine said, citing security sources.
The operation was the result of two months of “secret negotiations” in which Qatar acted as the go-between between Berlin and the Taliban authorities, Spiegel reported.
Hebestreit said Germany had “asked key regional partners for support in order to facilitate the deportations”, without giving more details.
Germany completely stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban administration taking power in 2021.
