(Photo: A. Perez Meca/Europa Press via Getty Images)
- At least 5,000 former staff members and their families were left in Afghanistan by Germany.
- The German military ended its evacuation operation on Thursday.
- It evacuated 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans.
A support network set up by the German army said on Friday that Germany has left at least 5,000 former staff and their families in Afghanistan and vowed to continue to urge them to leave the country after the August 31 deadline expires.
After the German military evacuated 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans, the airlift from Kabul Airport ended late Thursday.
According to the Berlin Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 300 German citizens remain in the country-in addition to an unknown number of former Afghan staff and their families.
“We estimate that at least 5,000 people (former Afghan staff and their families) are left behind,” Marcus Grotien, founder and head of the Afghan Staff Sponsorship Network, told Reuters.
He added that a key issue for these people to leave Afghanistan at the moment is that the German embassy in Kabul has been closed, which means they cannot receive the documents that have the right to travel to Germany.
“Other countries have started issuing virtual visas and mailing them to people so that they can at least prove that they are former workers,” Grotien said, and suggested that the German authorities should follow their example.
He vowed to support the network to make every effort to bring the remaining employees and their families to a safe place, even if it is unlikely to achieve this goal soon.
Germany stated that after the deadline for evacuation from Kabul Airport on August 31, its commitment to accept former Afghan staff will remain valid.
The Taliban said that once foreign troops withdraw, Afghans who are allowed to leave will be able to take civilian flights.
However, many former Western mission staff in Afghanistan fear that they will be persecuted by former insurgents who occupied the capital less than two weeks ago.
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