Germany has deported at least 17 Afghans back to their home country. This marks the 16th such deportation flight to Afghanistan in less than two years.
A deportation flight bound for Afghanistan left Munich airport on September 11 with 17 passengers on board, according to the DPA news agency citing official sources. Other sources, such as the pro-migrant Bavarian Refugee Council (Bayerischer Flüchtlingsrat), said there were as many as 22 passengers on board.
It was the 16th deportation flight of its kind since Germany started returning unsuccessful asylum applicants back to Afghanistan in December 2016. A total of 366 people – all males – have thus far been deported back to Afghanistan under the government scheme.
According to the AFP news agency, there were 300 to 400 protestors demonstrating against the deportation in central Munich. Human Rights Organizations including Amnesty International, Pro-Asyl and the Bavarian Refugee Council continue to criticize the divisive policy of deporting migrants to Afghanistan, as the security situation in the central Asian country remains fragile.
Afghanistan: a safe country of origin?
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR recently announced that the Afghan capital Kabul can no longer be classified as "safe," demanding that deportations to Afghanistan should therefore immediately be put on hold.
Meanwhile, a suicide attack claimed at least 68 lives in eastern Afghanistan on September 11. The death toll was one of the highest in a single attack in the country since the toppling of the Islamist Taliban government by the US-led forces in 2001. The previous night, another attack claimed the lives of 60 security officials in the north of the country.
On 3 July, a man deported from Germany took his life upon arrival in Kabul, having spent the past eight years in Germany. The case highlighted further possible dangers behind Germany's deportation practices.