(ANSA-AFP) - FRANKFURT AM MAIN, AUG 30 - 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. (ANSA-AFP).
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