Germany deports 28 Afghan nationals to their homeland, the first since the Taliban takeover in 2021

Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has deported Afghan nationals to their homeland for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. A government spokesman described the 28 Afghan nationals deported Friday as convicted criminals but did not clarify their offenses. While the deportations have been in the works for months, they occurred a week after a deadly knife attack in the town of Solingen in which the suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany. The suspect was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria last year but reportedly disappeared for a time and avoided deportation.