Germany to resume deportation flights to Afghanistan

KABUL as soon as next week, German media reported on Thursday.

Failed asylum-seekers from Afghanistan could be sent back to their country weeks after Berlin suspended the deportation process in the wake of a string of deadly attacks in Kabul.

NDR and Der Spiegel reported a new deportation flight to Kabul would take off in hours. However, official confirmation of the reports was not immediately available.

The German government’s policy on deporting refugees to Afghanistan has lately drawn criticism due to widespread concerns in the war-torn country.

Günter Burkhardt, gead of Pro Asyl -- a refugee rights group – called the planned resumption of deportations "incomprehensible and appalling".

Her government no longer saw any justification for holding back on deporting people to Afghanistan on security grounds, Merkel told lawmakers Wednesday.

"From our point of view, the restrictions are dropped" following a recent foreign ministry report on the situation in Afghanistan, she added.

PAN Monitor/mud