Months after Kabul's fall, Germany looks to rescue 20,000 Afghans

About 20,000 Afghans are still waiting to get into Germany, four and a half months after the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in that country, prompting a mass exodus, reported dpa.

The figures, provided by the German Interior Ministry after a question from dpa, fluctuate. Some of those people might have made their way to a third country after their initial contact with the Germans seeking a way out.

Many of those counted are people who used to work for German forces or agencies who operated in that country when NATO forces were based there and now consider themselves at risk.

As of December 27, Germany has counted 1,348 such people it has rescued to Germany. Counting accompanying dependents, that number rises to 5,437.

The other people on the list are human rights activists, artists, scientists, journalists and others whom the German government considers to be at risk. The German government says it has brought 466 such people to its territory, with the number rising to 1,462 when dependents are included.

Gökay Akbulut, a lawmaker from Germany's hard-left Die Linke party called the figures "absolutely insufficient," noting that the Taliban has launched multiple attacks against people who helped the old government since its takeover.

The German government has said getting people evacuated remains a top priority. Since Kabul's fall, it has airlifted 670 people out of Kabul on special flights. Additionally, it has brought 3,800 Afghans to Germany on flights that originated in Islamabad. The most recent one departed on Thursday.

Since the Taliban's takeover, German officials have issued more than 5,900 visas for people trying to get out of Afghanistan.