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Germany resumes deportations of Afghans despite COVID pandemic

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About 40 rejected Afghan asylum-seekers arrived in Kabul on Tuesday after being deported from Germany, in a move that has triggered fierce criticism. 
 
Deutsche Welle reported Wednesday that Germany has resumed deportations of rejected asylum-seekers to Afghanistan after suspending flights in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Günter Burkhardt, from Pro Asyl, a refugee organization, has called for the planned deportations to be stopped immediately. 
 
“It is completely irresponsible to go ahead with such plans at a time when the whole country (Germany) goes into a nationwide lockdown,” he told DW. 
 
Coronavirus infection rates in Afghanistan are also high, constituting a threat to the deportees’ safety, the organization stated.
 
“Violence has increased on a very high level and I call on nations who have taken in Afghan refugees to adhere to international humanitarian and human rights standards when dealing with asylum-seekers,” Sima Samar, minister for human rights in the Kabul government, told DW.
 
Why the Afghan government agreed to accept the deportees now in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is unclear. 
 
DW reports that Afghanistan analyst Thomas Ruttig, with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Ideas, suspects the move to resume deportations despite the pandemic is linked to the Afghanistan donors’ conference in November where all participating countries signed a document committing themselves to facilitate the return of rejected Afghan asylum-seekers.
 
Pro Asyl told DW it has learned that several individuals who had been scheduled for the deportation flight got German courts to halt procedures, pointing to the security situation as well as the pandemic, which would make it impossible for the returnees to be able to earn a living in the war-torn country.
 
The German Interior Ministry has also confirmed that the Afghan government has demanded all asylum-seekers test negative for the coronavirus before being deported. 
Germany is not the only country to resume deportations to Afghanistan. Earlier this week there were also reports of deportation flights from Austria and Bulgaria.

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MSF says it continues providing health services to Afghans

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Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced that it will continue providing its essential health services to the people of Afghanistan.

In a post on X, the organization, referring to Afghanistan’s health needs, said that over the past year it has been active in various health sectors across the country, ranging from maternal and child care to emergency response, as well as the treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis and severe injuries.

According to MSF, its teams over the past year have been present at a range of health facilities, including neonatal intensive care units, operating theatres, surgical centers, and specialized tuberculosis treatment wards, where they have delivered life-saving services to patients.

The organization stressed that it will continue ensuring the provision of health services, particularly for needy families and vulnerable communities in remote areas of Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan’s Embassy in Tokyo to suspend operations

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The Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan, currently run by diplomats of the previous government, has announced that it will suspend its operations in Tokyo after the end of January 2026.

In a statement issued on Friday, the embassy said the decision was made after consultations with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with Japanese authorities, and in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The embassy added that after January 31, all of its political, economic, cultural, and consular activities will be halted until further notice.

Currently, Shaida Abdali is serving as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Japan.

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Turkish Chargé d’Affaires in Kabul meets Zakir Jalali, discusses bilateral ties

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Sadin Ayyıldız, Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, held a courtesy meeting with Zakir Jalali, the Second Political Deputy of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the start of his mission.

The Turkish Embassy in Kabul said in a post that the meeting included mutual exchanges of views on bilateral relations.

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