Berlin, 16 August 2021 (dpa/MIA) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls the situation in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban's takeover "bitter, dramatic and terrifying." Merkel delivered her grim assessment at a press conference in Berlin on Monday, a day after the Western-backed government in Kabul fell to the ultra-conservative insurgents. "It is a terrible development for the millions of Afghans who want a more liberal society," she said. The government was focused on evacuating German citizens and Afghan staff who had worked for German ministries and the military, Merkel said, adding that the chaotic conditions in Kabul were making the operation "extremely difficult." Merkel said she has been in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron about the unfolding crisis and said a special EU Council meeting on Afghanistan was likely to be scheduled.