Afghanistan: Germany completes withdrawal of troops

Germany has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, which began in May, the German Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday, while the US military is expected to complete its own withdrawal by September 11 at the latest.

“After almost 20 years of development, the last Bundeswehr soldiers (…) left Afghanistan tonight (yesterday, Tuesday). “They are now on the way back,” explained German Defense Minister Annegret Krab-Karenbauer, referring to a “historic chapter that closes” during which the Bundeswehr “gave the credentials of its fighter.”Remaining Time-0:00FullscreenMute

It was a mission during which “members of our armed forces were wounded in their bodies and souls”, “people lost their lives”, “we were forced to mourn the fallen”, according to her.

During the deployment of the German army in Afghanistan in 2001, 59 members of the German armed forces were killed – 35 of them in battle or enemy attacks – according to official figures. This was the first time that the German army was involved in an armed conflict after World War II.

The last German soldiers were picked up by four transport planes at the Marmal campaign camp in Mazar-i-Sharif. These were two German A400M transports and two American C17. They were also boarded by members of the German Special Forces who had been sent to the country to ensure the safety of the departing military. Expected in Germany today.

By the time the withdrawal began in May, the German mission in Afghanistan had maintained some 1,100 troops operating within the borders of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Resolute Support.

The German armed forces greatly accelerated the process, imitating those of the United States, which US President Joe Biden ordered to leave the country of Asia after twenty years.

The U.S., which contributes the most troops, originally planned to withdraw before 9/11, when the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon is completed.

Washington, however, is now pushing for foreign troops to leave before the US national holiday on July 4.

So far, the countries that have made the greatest commitments in Afghanistan in terms of force development have been the United States, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Italy. These five countries had deployed 6,000 of the 9,592 troops of the 36 NATO member countries and their partners, such as Ukraine (10 troops) under Resolute Support.

The Taliban, the Islamist militants whose regime was overthrown by the US and allied invasion in 2001, are continuing the war and have recaptured much of the country, despite the peace process.