GERMANY WITHDRAWS LAST TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN AFTER NEARLY 20 YEARS DEPLOYED

Wed 30 June 2021:

Germany withdraws last contingent of its troops from Afghanistan after a near 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said.

Last week, Germany’s Defense Ministry said around 570 troops were still deployed.

The last of them have now been flown out of the northern city of Mazar — ending a nearly two decade-long mission. The contingent also included members of the KSK special forces, who were tasked with securing the camp during the move.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Twitter that the last German troops had safely left Afghanistan this evening, adding that “after 20 years, our most intensive overseas mission has been completed.”

Nach 20 Jahren haben heute Nacht die letzten Soldatinnen und Soldaten unserer Bundeswehr #Afghanistan verlassen. Sie sind nun auf dem Weg nach Hause. Damit geht ein historisches Kapitel zu Ende – ein intensiver Einsatz, der uns gefordert und geprägt hat. Ministerin @akk: pic.twitter.com/Z2ynBsL4yj

— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) June 29, 2021

She thanked the more than 150,000 German soldiers who have served in Afghanistan since 2001, saying they “have performed all the tasks given by the Bundestag in Afghanistan. You can be proud of this mission.”

Germany’s armed forces also confirmed the pullout, saying that “last soldiers have left Afghanistan.”

Heute um 21.24 Uhr MESZ verließen die letzten Soldatinnen und Soldaten der #BundeswehrimEinsatz Afghanistan. Sie sind jetzt auf dem Rückweg mit Zwischenstopp in Tiflis. Nach fast 20 Jahren endet die Beteiligung der Bundeswehr an den #NATO-Missionen. Mehr: https://t.co/zo4dzW7n9m pic.twitter.com/yl1yPISlxf

— Bundeswehr im Einsatz (@Bw_Einsatz) June 29, 2021

The last German soldiers who were stationed in the South Asian country were on their way to Germany via Tbilisi and were scheduled to arrive in the country tomorrow, the German army said in a statement.

The statement said the troops had completed the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

After landing in Germany, the soldiers will enter a mandatory two-week quarantine to curb the risk of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. According to Der Spiegel magazine, at least one German soldier was infected with the variant earlier this month.

German soldiers have been in Afghanistan since 2001 as part of the International Security Support Force (ISAF) and the subsequent Resolute Support Mission.

A total of 59 German soldiers were killed during the mission.

Some 1,100 German soldiers were in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support.

The US said it would begin withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan, which it invaded around 20 years ago, as of May 1 and that the withdrawal would be completed by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

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