Germany closes embassy in Afghan capital

KABUL, Afghanistan

The German Embassy in Afghanistan was closed on Friday as thousands of panicked Afghans scrambled to flee the war-ravaged country.

"The German Embassy in Kabul is currently closed," the embassy said on Twitter, adding that the Foreign Ministry had opened a hotline for Afghan nationals who are eligible to leave for Germany.

Apart from the crowd of thousands of desperate Afghans at the airport hoping to flee the country following a Taliban takeover on Sunday, hundreds more have been waiting outside the embassies of Western nations in the hope of a visa to leave the war-ravaged country.

A number of Afghans in Kabul previously associated with various German aid agencies staged a protest on Thursday.

They accused the German mission of indifference to their wellbeing and not granting them the promised protection and evacuation.

This comes as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday that the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital was now clear, secure, and open to civilian air traffic.

According to CENTCOM, the top US military commander in the region met Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday and cautioned them against interference in evacuation, making it clear that any attack would be met with "overwhelming force."

KABUL, Afghanistan

The German Embassy in Afghanistan was closed on Friday as thousands of panicked Afghans scrambled to flee the war-ravaged country.

"The German Embassy in Kabul is currently closed," the embassy said on Twitter, adding that the Foreign Ministry had opened a hotline for Afghan nationals who are eligible to leave for Germany.

A number of Afghans in Kabul previously associated with various German aid agencies staged a protest on Thursday.

They accused the German mission of indifference to their wellbeing and not granting them the promised protection and evacuation.

This comes as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday that the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital was now clear, secure, and open to civilian air traffic.