Merkel warns Afghan refugees they have little chance of asylum By Andrew McCathie, dpa

Berlin (dpa) - Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday that German troops would remain in his nation for the coming years but she warned that refugees from his nation had little chance of asylum in Europe‘s biggest economy."We should ... not awaken false hopes," Merkel said at a joint press conference on Wednesday in Berlin with Ghani.Merkel has moved to tighten up Germany‘s asylum laws in the wake of the nation‘s refugee crisis, which is expected to result in the numbers of refugees entering the country to top 1 million this year.German had a humanitarian obligation to help Afghans who have worked for the German armed forces or other German authorities in Afghanistan and now find themselves in acute danger, Merkel said.But those who tried to gain entry into Germany solely for economic reasons had no right to asylum in the country, Merkel said standing alongside Ghani.Consequently, they would be returned to their homeland, she said.The numbers of refugees from Afghanistan entering Germany has risen sharply in recent months. About 31,000 were registered across Germany in October alone.The Afghan leader said that Afghans also needed to have a more realistic picture of Germany saying that "the nation‘s streets are not paved with gold by any means."Merkel told Ghani that Germany would do everything possible to help with the development and stabilization of Afghanistan.She said that considering the tense security situation in Afghanistan, Germany plans to retain its soldiers in the country for the coming years.NATO foreign ministers decided on Tuesday not to make any changes to the military alliance‘s mission in Afghanistan in 2016.The NATO force includes about 12 000 soldiers whose task is to advise and help train the Afghan security forces. Germany plans to expand role in the mission by deploying up to 980 soldiers.