Afghanistan: German Chancellor Merkel discusses evacuating local staff with US Prez Biden

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to US President Joe Biden, on Wednesday, about the situation in Afghanistan and stressed the importance of evacuating as many Afghans as possible, who supported the German military and civilian efforts in the country. According to Merkel's office, the two leaders spoke on the phone and agreed to fly out as many people, in need of protection, as possible. 

Earlier German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had said that Germany would do everything to get as many local staff, out of Kabul, as possible.

Germany's measures to help Afghan nationals 

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas informed that he has begun talks with Taliban representatives in Doha to ensure they allow Afghans to reach the airport.

Mass said that Germany has flown over 500 people out of Afghanistan, including 200 Afghan citizens, since Sunday, 15 August. "We want to continue doing so in this quantity in the coming days," he said. The German foreign minister informed that the assumption is that the window for evacuation flights will be limited, but all those in positions of responsibility on the ground, in particular the United States, are trying to use this time as best as possible.

As per information received by the German foreign minister, at present, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people outside the gates of the Kabul airport, and the region is witnessing sporadic outbursts of violence. He said that Germany is also trying to bring supplies of food to Kabul to provide for those waiting to be evacuated and has a Medevac plane in the region.

Germany to provide $11.7MN for Afghan support programme

After the Afghanistan government collapsed with the Taliban's take over of Kabul, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, on Wednesday, announced that Germany is set to provide 10 million euros ($11.7 million) for a program to support people in Afghanistan.

"We are looking into the period after the evacuation, I spoke about this with representatives of German human rights organizations... These days, many representatives of NGOs, science, and culture addressed us. In recent years, they have maintained a close partnership with civil society (in Afghanistan) which they would like to continue to support," Maas said.

He added, "To ensure this, we are creating a support fund for those who campaigned for human rights, freedom of science and culture, we want to expand specific protection programs for Afghanistan... and we are allocating immediately 10 million euros for this."

Earlier on 16 August, Chancellor Angela Merkel had described the Taliban's Afghanistan takeover as "bitter, dramatic and terrible."

Addressing a televised news conference Merkel had said, "This is a particularly bitter development. Bitter, dramatic, and terrible...it is terrible for the millions of Afghans who have worked for the freedom of a society." 

(With input from AP, Image: AP)