The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel is on a one-day trip to northern Afghanistan, where she is visiting German troops serving in the NATO-led security force.
Merkel arrived in Mazar-e-Sharif on March 12 on an unannounced visit. She originally planned also to visit Kunduz, another northern area where German troops are based, but bad weather meant it wasn’t possible to fly there.
Germany has some 4,800 troops in northern Afghanistan.
By the end of January 2013, the government aims to get troop numbers down to 4,400. That’s part of plans by the U.S. and other allies to withdraw combat troops and hand over responsibility for security to Afghan authorities by the end of 2014.
