Germany and Denmark Withdraw Diplomatic Staff From Afghanistan

On Friday, German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas announced that his country will hire charter flights to take a large part of its diplomatic staff out of Afghanistan. The German embassy, however, will continue to operate.

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Maas called on all German citizens to urgently make use of regular airlines to leave the country "soon". Earlier this week, the German Interior Minister also announced that scheduled expulsions of Afghan migrants were suspended.

These announcements came at a time when the Taliban control an increasing proportion of Afghan territory. This could put at risk citizens from Germany, a country that kept the second largest contingent of troops in this Asian nation.

The security situation for European citizens has worsened since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which is expected to end in September. In addition, the possibility of retaliation against Afghans who have worked for the armed forces of Western countries has led several of those countries, including the U.S., to announce their evacuation or to discuss that option.

On Friday, Denmark, which also suspended forced repatriations of Afghans, announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Kabul and the withdrawal of all diplomatic staff.

"Danes in Afghanistan must leave the country immediately. The situation is serious. We have taken the necessary measures," Foreign Affairs Minister Jeppe Kofod said.

Among the personnel to be evacuated are 45 Afghan nationals who were recruited in the last two years. Denmark reached an agreement with several local political parties so that these officials and their families can be evacuated to its territory. This solution, however, generated criticism because it left out interpreters and other Afghans who collaborated with the Danish forces.