Germany has deported a convicted criminal to Syria for the first time since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, the Interior Ministry has said.

The man was handed over to Syrian authorities in Damascus on Tuesday morning.

Why has the deportation taken place now?

It comes after Berlin reached an agreement with the Syrian government allowing deportations of convicted criminals and security threats to take place on a regular basis.

The deported man had served a prison sentence in North Rhine-Westphalia for particularly serious robbery, assault, and extortion, the ministry said.

Earlier on Tuesday, another convicted offender was deported to Afghanistan, following a similar removal last week.

The Afghan national had been imprisoned in Bavaria, including for intentional bodily harm. The ministry said this marked the second deportation of an Afghan criminal within a week.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union, said the government was acting in the public interest. "Our society has a legitimate interest in criminals leaving our country," he said, adding that the government stood for control, consistency, and clear consequences.

Human rights groups have been critical of Berlin's efforts to send back immigrants to Syria and Afghanistan, as both countries still suffer instability and consistent reports of rights abuses.

However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative-led government has prioritized resuming deportations to Syria since its former President Bashar Assad was overthrown in December last year.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar