Sunday 15th August 2021
Paratroopers to Afghanistan
Bundeswehr rescue mission begins Monday
Let’s go: Because of the Taliban’s lightning advance, a report says that the Bundeswehr should evacuate the German embassy in Afghanistan as quickly as possible and rescue around 10,000 people. Tashkent will be the hub for transport aircraft and paratroopers.
According to a newspaper report on Monday, German air force A400M military transporters will be flying into the Afghan capital to evacuate the German embassy staff in Kabul. These machines, which would offer the highest level of protection, were supposed to bring the Germans safely out of the country, reports the “Bild am Sonntag”. A hub for stopovers of the A400M planes is expected to be set up in the Uzbek capital Tashkent. From there, the passengers should be brought to Germany by charter planes.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) said he was giving top priority to the safe departure of German personnel from Afghanistan. “The top priority now is the safety of our embassy staff,” he is quoted as saying: “We will not risk our people falling into the hands of the Taliban. We are prepared for all scenarios.” According to Maas, the federal government is in talks with the Bundestag about a mandate for the evacuation mission. In view of the current risk situation, a subsequent mandate should be probable.
After taking the provincial capital Pul-i-Alam, the radical Islamic Taliban are only around 50 kilometers from Kabul. The United States sent thousands of additional soldiers to the Afghan capital, according to the Pentagon, to ensure that thousands of people can be flown out every day. Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) agreed to support the Federal Foreign Office in the departure of embassy staff and local staff.
According to information from ntv, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas discussed the situation in Afghanistan early on Saturday morning. The plan provides for up to 10,000 people, aid workers and their “nuclear families” to be removed from the country in order to save them from the revenge of the radical Islamist Taliban. Over the past few years you have worked for the German Armed Forces, the Foreign Office, development aid and other German organizations, among other things, and now you have to fear for your life. First helpers, including German media, have already been murdered.
The Bundeswehr has already started preparations for the evacuation. Paratroopers from the Rapid Forces Division (DSK) are to be deployed next week; they are part of the national risk and crisis prevention for this task.
The Islamist and militant extremists also took the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north on their rapid conquest on Saturday. Until a few weeks ago there was a large military camp there, and since the end of June the German soldiers have withdrawn from the crisis state. The government now only has two major cities – Jalalabad in the east and the capital Kabul.
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