Stop refugees to get aid

Germany's interior minister has promised Afghanistan it will continue to provide security support to the country, but only if the arrival of Afghan refugees to the country is stopped.

During a visit to Kabul on Monday, Thomas de Maiziere said: “We're staying here as long as it's necessary. But we also expect that the Afghan population stays here,” N-tv reports. 

“We want the influx of refugees to be stopped.”

The minister quashed any expectations Afghans may hold upon coming to Germany, stressing chances of asylum seekers finding success were slight.

“There is no welcome money in Germany. There is no guarantee of a job or an apartment," Maiziere told state broadcaster ZDF, warning Afghans not to succumb to propaganda spread by people smugglers.

Mr Maiziere called on Afghans to "stay here to build up [the] country", insisting parts of the region are still stable, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, the UN said yesterday said children are now make up over a third of the migrants who undertake the perilous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece.

"Children currently account for 36 percent of those risking the treacherous sea crossing between Greece and Turkey," the UNICEF spokeswoman Sarah Crowe said. "Children and women on the move now make up nearly 60 percent" of those entering from Macedonia, she added.

The figures mark a significant shift since June, when 73 percent of migrants were adult males and only one in 10 were under the age of 18.

UN said women and children were even more vulnerable to the dangers of trying to travel to Europe.  Nearly 4,000 people died trying to reach Europe by sea last year.