Germany Vows 'No Repeat' of 2015 Refugee Influx as Election Looms
Voice of America
BERLIN - Campaigning to elect a new German leader this month is being clouded by concerns that the country will face a new influx of refugees — this time those fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
In 2015, more than 1 million migrants, many of them Syrians escaping their country's civil war, traveled across the Mediterranean and Europe to reach Germany, according to German officials. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline.
Angela Merkel is not standing in the September 26 election, so Germany will soon have a new chancellor tasked with formulating policy toward Afghanistan and the unfolding refugee crisis.
Armin Laschet is the candidate for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, which currently shares power with the Social Democrats. Speaking shortly after the Taliban seized power last month, he pledged there would be no repeat of the refugee influx.
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