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Germany to send refugees back to Afghanistan, Balkans: minister

Xinhua, October 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday that his country would facilitate a swifter deportation of rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan and the Balkans.

The number of repatriations and deportations, said de Maiziere, is expected to "rise significantly in the coming months" in a toughening of Germany's refugee policy.

According to the minister, German authorities would deal with large numbers of old cases till end of the year, which means "tens of thousands of rejected asylum seekers from the Balkans" have to leave Germany.

"This must be accomplished," he urged.

De Maiziere also announced that he would soon travel to Albania to inspect its handling of deportees.

Speaking of asylum seekers from Afghanistan, the minister said it was "unacceptable" that Afghanistan is currently in second place of the list of countries of origin.

Among Afghan refugees, he noted, are many members of the middle class who "should remain in their country and help build it up."

In addition, de Maiziere urged an "orderly procedure" given the dramatic situation at the Austrian-German border in recent days.

"We have to complain that refugees, without warning and after dark, were being driven to the German border without any provisions or forethought ... Austria has agreed on Tuesday to return to an orderly process. I expect that to happen immediately," he said. Endit