Germany to accept up to 40,000 people still located in Afghanistan

Germany to accept up to 40,000 people still in Afghanistan

Germany to accept up to 40,000 people still in Afghanistan

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Tuesday that her country will offer residence permits to up to 40,000 people in Afghanistan who have worked for various organisations if they feel their lives are in danger.

The German government chief said these workers have the right to evacuate and that they have become the main focus of her cabinet. She also confirmed that most German policemen and soldiers have already left Afghanistan.

Germany has identified tens of thousands of people who have to be evacuated from Afghanistan, including some German citizens, local Afghan staff and groups at risk, such as journalists and human rights activists, writes Independent, the newspaper Express.

Speaking at a press conference with her Austrian counterpart, Mrs. Merkel said: “for us, the focus at the moment is local staff and they are not 300 people, there are probably 10,000 to 40 thousand people and we need to see how many of them want to leave the country and not.”

Advertisements
On Monday, Germany's Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, told reporters that the German government has secured agreements with Uzbekistan to leave open the borders of this state for persons on Germany's list, who are described as endangered and must be evacuated from Afghanistan.