At around 6.30 p.m. today, the soldiers from the German Armed Forces’ military evacuation operation in Kabul will return to Germany. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Jens Arlt, up to 600 troops were involved in the largest military evacuation mission in the Federal Republic to date.
On arrival, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-KarrenbauerInspector General Eberhard Zorn, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, and other politicians will be present. Germany has been participating in the rescue operation in Kabul alongside other nations since August 16. After the Taliban captured the Afghan capital Kabul, among other places, the Bundeswehr supported the ongoing evacuation mission of the Federal Foreign Office to bring German citizens, local Afghan forces and their families and other people in need of protection to safety. Paratroopers, soldiers from the Special Forces Command (KSK), military police, crisis support teams, paramedics, military police, members of the air force and other specialists from all branches of the Bundeswehr were deployed in Germany, Tashkent and at Kabul airport to ensure the evacuation from the German side. An airlift set up by the Bundeswehr from Kabul to Tashkent brought people seeking protection to safety with evacuation flights around the clock. In total, the Bundeswehr evacuated more than 5,300 German citizens, Afghans and citizens of other countries from at least 45 countries on 37 flights with its A400M transport aircraft.
