France had sent nine Afghan migrants back to their restless homeland, the Immigration Minister Eric Besson confirmed Wednesday, despite opposition from the Afghan embassy and aid
groups.
Local media reported a British charter plane with the nine Afghans from France onboard had taken off before dawn. The minister later confirmed the
expulsion.
They were not refugees, so "they don't have the right to take sanctuary," Besson declared, adding that the plane had landed successfully
in the morning.
This was the second expulsion of Afghan immigrants since France dismantled a refugee and immigrants' camp in northern French port of Calais
in September.
Besides protests of humanitarian organizations, Afghan Ambassador to France Omar Samad also disagreed with the expulsion, saying it did not have the Afghan authority's permission because "it was against the will" of the migrants.
Samad said Afghanistan had procedures for citizen repatriation, which included identity confirmation and the citizen's voluntary will.
There was no accord between France and Afghanistan and there "were too many vague issues" about the problem. "The embassy and Kabul demand a
clarification," Samad said.
In October, three Afghans from France and 24 from Britain were returned to their homeland, based on a commitment between the two European countries.