Germany has started reducing its troop presence in the strategically located northern province of Kunduz in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. 

The troop withdrawal isn’t a reaction to the recently announced US troops withdrawal but it was planned in late summer of this year, clarified a spokesperson of Germany’s Joint operations Command. German forces have been training, advising, and in some cases assisting the Afghan National Security and Defense forces against the Taliban in the province. 

The withdrawal could have major implications for Afghan forces as the province has become a Taliban stronghold in recent years. The insurgent group had recently overtaken the provincial capital for a brief period. 

Kunduz also connects northeastern Afghanistan to an important northern city, Mazar-e-Sharif. In the late 90s, the province had become a major base for foreign supply and support to prominent anti-Taliban factions, including that of Ahmad Shah Massoud, in Afghanistan. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also expressed concern over the security situation in northern Afghanistan. “Russia remained concerned with the deteriorating security situation especially in the north of Afghanistan,” the Russian foreign minister remarked at the Afghanistan Conference 2020.

The security situation in northern Afghanistan remains a concern for Russian as it carries the potential danger of spilling over into Central Asian countries- a region Russian considers as its backyard and crucial for its own security.