Country at war: Laschet wants to continue deporting to Afghanistan

The CDU chairman Armin Laschet has spoken out in favor of continuing to deport offenders to Afghanistan. “We are monitoring the situation in Afghanistan very closely. We cannot ignore the advance of the Taliban and the consequences for the population. The situation therefore requires ongoing assessment and careful action in the event of returns. But our line remains clear: Anyone who commits a criminal offense in Germany has forfeited his or her right to host, ”said the Union Chancellor candidate of the Bild newspaper. “The principle of“ zero tolerance towards criminals ”does not allow any exceptions. Criminals must continue to be consistently deported, including to Afghanistan. "

At the weekend, Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) spoke out in favor of holding on to deportations to Afghanistan.

"We are currently negotiating with Afghanistan so that we can continue to deport criminals there," he told Bild am Sonntag.

"How can you answer for the fact that criminals can no longer be returned to their home country?" He asked.

“We also have to consider whether there are ways to increase voluntary departure.

If an inmate gets part of his sentence waived, he may leave voluntarily. "

SPD chief: "misanthropic"

The SPD chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans expressed criticism of Seehofer's statements.

“This consideration is fully in line with the misanthropic line of populists.

Foreign offenders are human too.

They deserve their punishment, but no one has the right to send them to death.

If this threatens, deportations must be stopped, ”he told the Rheinische Post.

In the past few years only men - mainly criminals and so-called terrorist threats - had been returned to Afghanistan against their will.

The Bundeswehr ended its deployment there at the end of June.

At the same time as the withdrawal of international troops, the militant Islamist Taliban launched several offensives and brought numerous districts under their control.

After conquering large rural parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban are moving ever closer to important provincial capitals.

For about a week, Islamists and government troops have been fighting in the outskirts of the provincial capitals Herat in the west and Laschkar Gah in the south of the country.

On Saturday, the Taliban from Laschkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, were pushed back.

A day later, however, they returned at full strength and managed to penetrate the 200,000-inhabitant city again.

"The fighting in the city continues and we have asked for reinforcements from special forces," said Helmand Provincial Council Chairman Ataullah Afghan, the AFP news agency. The insurgents had seized several administrative buildings, reported the resident Badschah Chan. The streets are littered with corpses.

According to experts, the capture of one of the major urban centers of Afghanistan by the Taliban would change the dynamics of the conflict in favor of the Islamists. Observers fear that the Taliban could regain control of Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of NATO troops. Around half of the 400 or so districts in Afghanistan are already under their control. The peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Doha have been stalled for months.