A spokesman for the Saxony Interior Ministry said a plane carrying Afghans had departed from Leipzig and was scheduled to land in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday afternoon. The Afghans on the flight were convicted criminals from various states across Germany.
Police block protesters against immigration policy in Solingen, Germany, on August 26. Photo: Getty
New security measures
The flight marked the first time Germany has deported Afghans back to their country since the Taliban regained power there three years ago in August 2021. According to German news magazine Der Spiegel, the deportations were the result of months of negotiations and planning, and each deportee, all men, received a payment of 1,000 euros.
The Hebestreit spokesman added that the German government had made “strong efforts” to deport migrants who committed serious crimes back to Afghanistan and Syria following a knife attack in the southwestern German city of Mannheim in late May.
One police officer died in the attack and several others were injured, with German authorities pointing to Islamist extremism as the motive. The main suspect has been identified as a 25-year-old Afghan refugee.
The expulsions also come a day after the German government announced a new security package following a terror attack in the western city of Solingen last week. Three people were stabbed to death in the incident on 23 August, which took place during a street festival.
The suspect was identified as a 26-year-old Syrian man with alleged links to IS who had previously been deported. Police said he had surrendered and confessed to the attack.
New security measures announced by Germany at a press conference on Thursday aim to speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants, while also tightening gun laws.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pledged at a press conference to “speed up repatriations” and “take further measures to reduce illegal migration,” while also strengthening the government’s powers to combat extremism.
Anti-immigration wave
The Solingen attack has sparked a new debate in Germany about immigration, with the country’s ruling coalition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, facing criticism for its handling of the issue. It has also helped embolden Germany’s far-right ahead of crucial state elections this weekend.
Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is on track to win elections in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia on Sunday. The AfD is currently leading in the polls in both states.
The anti-immigration party used the Solingen attack in its political campaign, with Björn Höcke, the party's regional leader in Thuringia, telling voters they had a choice of "Höcke or Solingen".
Immigration has long been a hotly debated topic in Germany. Mr Scholz's centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) has generally supported a more open migration policy in Germany.
During the 2015 European migration crisis, former Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted an "open door" policy that allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere to enter Germany - a decision that drew both praise and criticism.
Bui Huy (according to CNN, Reuters)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/duc-truc-xuat-28-nguoi-afghanistan-siet-chat-an-ninh-sau-vu-dam-dao-khung-bo-post310088.html
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