WORLD / EUROPE
Berlin’s military reductions in Afghanistan signal new phase
Germany’s Afghan troop pullout done
Published: Jun 30, 2021 06:08 PM
Photo taken in Kunduz city, Afghanistan on May 26, 2021 shows people who were rescued by Afghan Special Forces from a Taliban detention center located in neighboring Baghlan province.(Photo: Xinhua)

Photo taken in Kunduz city, Afghanistan on May 26, 2021 shows people who were rescued by Afghan Special Forces from a Taliban detention center located in neighboring Baghlan province.(Photo: Xinhua)


Germany has completed its troop pullout from Afghanistan, started in May, the defense ministry announced Tuesday, ending a nearly 20-year deployment there alongside US and other international forces.

The announcement of the pullout of German troops, whose presence there was second only to the US forces, came as the US aims to complete its own withdrawal by September 11.

"After nearly 20 years of deployment, the last soldiers of our Bundeswehr have left Afghanistan this evening," said German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in a statement. "They are on the way back.

"A historic chapter comes to an end, an intensive deployment that challenged and shaped the Bundeswehr, in which the Bundeswehr proved itself in combat," she added.

On Twitter, the minister offered her thanks to all the 150,000 men and women who had served there since 2001, saying they could be proud of their service. And she paid tribute to those killed and wounded in service there. "You will not be forgotten," she said.

According to the army, 59 German soldiers have been killed since 2001 in the course of their service in Afghanistan.

The last of the troops were airlifted out of their base at Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan on two German A400 Ms and two US C17s.

Before the pullout began, Germany still had 1,100 soldiers operating as part of the 9,600-strong NATO training and support mission - second only to the US military presence.

Britain, Italy and Turkey also have a significant military presence there, the five countries between supplying 6,000 members of the mission, called Resolute Support.

Smaller contributors to the force, such as Denmark, Estonia and Spain, have already pulled out their forces.

Germany stepped up its pullout after US President Joe Biden announced he was pulling US troops out of the country after 20 years there.

In April, Germany's defense ministry had announced it planned to pull out its troops by early July. Biden aims to have US troops out of Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the devastating Al-Qaeda attacks on the US.

The pace of the US pullout has led to speculation that he aims to have them all home before July 4: Independence Day in the US.

Questioned by AFP about the timetable for the pullout Tuesday, a NATO spokesman would only say: "The withdrawal of forces is proceeding in an orderly and coordinated manner."

The Pentagon declined to comment on the German announcement.