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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Deborah Cole Berlin correspondent

Germany drops promise to resettle hundreds of Afghans

Members of the Afghan army walk past a German soldier in a barren area in northern Afghanistan
Members of the Afghan army walk past a German soldier during a joint patrol in northern Afghanistan in 2011. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

Hundreds of Afghans previously promised sanctuary in Germany have been told they are no longer welcome, in a stark U-turn by the conservative chancellor, Friedrich Merz‪.

The 640 people in Pakistan awaiting resettlement – many of whom worked for the German military during the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan – will no longer be taken in, as Merz’s government axes two programmes introduced by its centre-left-led predecessor.

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