Germany wants the withdrawal of its soldiers from Afghanistan synchronized with 30 partner states from May 1 to be “orderly, coordinated and deliberate”. The withdrawal should be completed within a few months. In press reports, the time window for the German withdrawal was set from mid-August to September. Around 10,000 soldiers from NATO and partner nations are currently providing training and advice to the democratically elected Afghan government. Germany has deployed 1,100 members of the Bundeswehr.

Recently, the German parliament had voted for an extension of the Bundeswehr’s Afghanistan mission until 31 January 2022. The troops of the international allies have been present in Afghanistan for around 20 years. 59 Bundeswehr soldiers died in Afghanistan. A conference in Istanbul, scheduled for the end of April, is now supposed to catalyze the peace process in Afghanistan.

The armed forces had fulfilled all their mission targets, wrote Kramp-Karrenbauer and General Inspector Eberhard Zorn. The Defense Commissioner of the Bundestag, Eva Högl (SPD), emphasized that the security of the soldiers had to be ensured until the soldiers have withdrawn. The Bundeswehrverband welcomed the withdrawal.