A few days after the Federal Foreign Office published an action plan to help those in need in Afghanistan, the situation there initially continued to darken.

According to American reports, the only way to leave Afghanistan by air is currently suspended.

In addition to the wintry weather conditions, this is apparently due to the Taliban's demand to transport some of their fighters on the charter flights provided by Qatar Airways.

Johannes Leithäuser

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban seizure of power in August, the state airline of the emirate of Qatar has ensured a flight connection to the Qatari capital Doha, where the Taliban's office is located.

Afghans who were particularly at risk have been brought abroad via these flights, which could be chartered by Western nations.

Two staffs are working on departures

According to the Foreign Office, 674 passengers have so far been flown out of Kabul on flights chartered by German agencies. A total of around 10,000 people have so far managed to leave Germany. Around half of them left Afghanistan via the Bundeswehr airlift in the summer, the other half left Afghanistan via Doha or via Islamabad in Pakistan. In the Federal Foreign Office, two staffs are still working on organizing these trips by air to Doha or by land to Pakistan.

The action plan also states: “But over 15,000 people, whom we have firmly agreed to take in, are still in Afghanistan.” Among them are 135 German nationals.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) assured that they were working flat out to get them to safety.

The second main focus of the Federal Foreign Office is on humanitarian aid for the people in Afghanistan.

Aid funds for shelter and food should, if possible, not fall into the hands of the Taliban or be distributed according to their instructions.

Some international aid organizations such as the United Nations World Food Program or the International Committee of the Red Cross are still active in Afghanistan and can be supported directly with aid funds.

Germany is the largest humanitarian donor

In the assessment of the German diplomats, it is said that Afghanistan is "heading right before our eyes into the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time". There are reports that families are selling their daughters to get food. 24 million Afghans, more than half of the total population of around 40 million, would need humanitarian aid to survive in the winter.

With aid amounting to 600 million euros, Germany is already the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan. Since the Bundestag has yet to discuss and approve the budget for 2022, Baerbock says he wants the budget politicians in the Bundestag to promise swiftly that the aid can continue next year. The funds support, among other things, the UN flight service to bring help to remote areas of Afghanistan, or the Johanniter Accident Aid, which operates mobile hospitals in Kabul.

In order to better coordinate humanitarian aid, provide more targeted support to those wishing to leave the country and gain a more precise picture of the situation, the Federal Foreign Office is still striving to have its own presence in Kabul.

However, this should in no way be seen as recognition of the Taliban regime and should take place “in close coordination with our European and international partners”.

For the time being, it is still unclear whether the first step is to establish a representative office for the European Union or whether individual nations will send their own staff to Kabul, who could then possibly be accommodated in a shared building.