Germany to cut Kabul embassy staff to 'absolute minimum'
German Foreign minister Heiko Maas says on Twitter he has 'moved the staff of the Kabul Embassy to the military part of the airport' as the Taliban continues its takeover of the Afghan capital.
Maas also said he has 'called the crisis team of the Federal Government in order to initiate immediate measures for the security and departure of German staff'.
Germany is slashing staff levels at its embassy in Kabul to an "absolute minimum", as the Taliban advance on the Afghan capital.
Maas told reporters the evacuation would be carried out "in the coming days" following similar moves by the US and Britain.
"We will send a crisis support team to Kabul to help us boost security precautions" during the withdrawal, Maas said, adding that the embassy would "remain able to function".
Maas said he had spoken overnight about the steps with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of a crisis cell meeting at his ministry early on Friday.
The German minister said that already scheduled charter flights would be moved forward to take both German embassy staff "as well as local staff who are still in Afghanistan" to Germany.
He also renewed a call made on Thursday by his ministry for all German citizens still in Afghanistan to leave the country immediately.
The evacuation orders by NATO allies come as the Taliban have taken control of Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-biggest city, leaving only Kabul and pockets of other territories in government hands.
