A flight carrying a group of failed asylum seekers deported from Germany touched down in Kabul early Thursday, the International Organisation for Migration confirmed.
There were 27 people on board the plane from Frankfurt, the biggest such group since January, sources told DPA.
Five hundred activists turned out to protest the deportation at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday evening.
They held placards proclaiming "No person is illegal," and chanted "No wall around Europe, permanent residency rights for all."
Since December 2016, the German government has forcibly deported 128 Afghan nationals in seven groups, not including this week's group, as part of efforts to show the country is tackling the high number of migrant arrivals in 2015 and 2016 by removing those who do not qualify as refugees.
The Afghan deportations have been controversial however, due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
German police officers guard people who must board a flight to Kabul at Rhein-Main International Airport in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
