Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany is scheduled to evacuate 10,000 people from Afghanistan.
The number include 2,500 Afghan support staff as well as human rights activists.
Lawyers and others who are at risk if they remain in the country will also be included.
Merkel called on other countries bordering Afghanistan to support those fleeing from the country now.
“This topic will keep us busy for a very long time,” she said.
For his part, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Germany is working to get as many people as possible out of Afghanistan quickly.
The NATO allies had misjudged the situation when they thought Afghan government forces could hold back the Taliban, he admitted.
“We want to get as many people out of the country as quickly as possible,” Maas told reporters.
He said people who had worked with German military forces in the country, human rights activists and Afghan-German dual nationals will make up the bulk of some 10,000 people Germany wants to lift out of Afghanistan.
Germany to Repeat 2015 Migrant Influx?
In 2015, Germany opened its borders to more than 1 million migrants, many of them Syrians, fleeing war and poverty.
The move won Merkel plaudits abroad. But, it proved controversial at home and eroded some of her political capital.
Kabul Collapse
The Taliban has claimed victory after taking over the capital of Kabul last weekend.
Fighters have seized the presidential palace and the government has collapsed.
Moreover, President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad.
This came a few days after foreign forces started withdrawing from the country.
The last German troops left Afghanistan earlier last month, bringing to an end almost two decades of involvement in the country.
The US military also started preparing its withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 2021, a deadline set by US President Joe Biden to end America’s longest war.
Kabul has earlier urged all European countries in early July to halt forced deportations for the next three months.
However, the renewed violence foiled any hope to restore calm in the country.
