Germany deports 81 Afghans, second time since Taliban's return

BERLIN: Germany deported dozens of Afghan men to their homeland on Friday, the second time it has done so since the Taliban returned to power and the first since a new government.

German authorities said a flight took off Friday morning carrying 81 Afghans, all of them men who had had asylum applications rejected. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the deportation was carried out with the help of Qatar and preceded by weeks of negotiations. He also said there were contacts with Afghanistan, but didn't elaborate. More than 10 months ago.

Germany's previous government deported Afghan nationals to their homeland for the first time since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.