Schaeuble Says Germany Must Send Refugees Back to Afghanistan
- No right to asylum with German troops there, minister says
- Tensions mounting in German coalition over refugee influx
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Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Germany and its allies are keeping troops in Afghanistan longer than planned to protect civilians there, meaning people fleeing the war-torn nation have no right to seek asylum in Europe’s biggest economy.
The continued military deployment “means, of course, that we’re in Afghanistan so that the people don’t have to leave Afghanistan,” Schaeuble said Wednesday in a speech at a logistics congress in Berlin. “That’s why the people must remain in Afghanistan, and when they come here, we must send them back to Afghanistan. That’s always been the goal of the mission.”