Commercial flights at Kabul airport were suspended on Monday due to the chaos at the airport, with several thousand Afghans leaving the airfield and trying to break into the planes.
Videos posted on social media show people without tickets breaking up the flight of stairs. A video shows people trying to break into a cargo plane.
In an effort to end the chaos, American soldiers at the airport also fired shots into the air. Eyewitnesses say there were several victims in the crowd. It is unclear at this time whether they were crushed to death or killed by bullets.
U.S. officials say American soldiers opened fire and killed two gunmen who were the first to shoot at the Americans. It is not yet clear whether they were Taliban fighters.
In the afternoon, the Americans were forced to temporarily suspend flights from Kabul airport because the runways were crowded with people. Video footage from the airport showed people desperately clinging to the wheels of US military planes just to get out of Kabul.
U.S. troops have met with Taliban leaders and demanded that the Taliban not obstruct evacuation operations from Kabul airport. The Americans warn that otherwise they will be ready to defend the airport by force.
Latvian Radio correspondent Rihards Plūme on the situation at Kabul Airport
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“We are afraid to live in this city,” a 25-year-old former Afghan army revealed to AFP, noting that it was dangerous for him to be in a Taliban-controlled country as a former Afghan army soldier.
The United States (US) deployed 6,000 troops to maintain security at the airport to help evacuate embassy staff, as well as Afghans who helped the U.S. military. Governments in other countries, including France and Australia, have also organized charter flights.
Thousands of people have arrived at the airport who do not have airline tickets or visas to enter another country, but who want to leave Afghanistan, which has come under the control of the Islamist group “Taliban”.
Kabul International Airport is closed to commercial flights, but evacuation flights by military aircraft continue from there. Several airlines have banned the use of Afghan airspace and re-routed.
More than 65 countries, led by the United States, have issued a joint statement calling on the Taliban to allow people to leave.
Video: People run on tarmac of Kabul international airport as a US military aircraft attempts to take off. pic.twitter.com/9qA36HS0WQ
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) August 16, 2021
Efforts to export their citizens and diplomats are also being accelerated by several Western countries. When the last military helicopter took off, the evacuation of the US Embassy was completed at night. Meanwhile, Russia and China do not intend to close the embassies.
The situation in Afghanistan will be assessed by the UN Security Council
The United Nations (UN) Security Council will discuss the situation in Afghanistan today, August 16, diplomats said. UN Secretary-General Antoniu Guterrez will also attend the Security Council meeting. The meeting was convened at the request of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, Estonia and Norway.
Afghanistan has already been abandoned by its President, Ashraf Gani. He was initially reported to have gone to Tajikistan, but the country has rejected the news and a version has been made that the president is in Uzbekistan. His escape has been widely criticized by Afghan society and officials. He himself admitted that he had left to avoid bleeding.
The Tajik Foreign Ministry said: “The plane with Muhammad Ashraf Ghana has not entered Tajik airspace and has not landed on its territory. Tajikistan has not received a request from Afghanistan.”
On Sunday, when Islamist Taliban forces surrounded the capital, Kabul, Afghan President Gani left the country. In announcing this, Gani did not indicate where he was going, but the TV channel “Al Arabiya” reported that Gani had flown from Kabul to Tajikistan.
More pictures from Kabul Airport. People want to just leave Afghanistan for whatever it takes for an air ticket. pic.twitter.com/MU46GhI0PZ
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) August 16, 2021
There is still uncertainty about how the Taliban will proceed after the takeover in Afghanistan. It is reported that the Taliban are also controlling the green zone of Kabul, where the embassies are located. Meanwhile, thousands of Afghan forces have surrendered at Kandahar airport in the south of the country.
According to Taliban officials in the video call, the situation in Afghanistan is calm and there are no reports of clashes after the takeover of Kabul. The Taliban, which have now effectively taken control of the country, promise to prioritize order and security. It is emphasized that civilians and their property will not be harmed.
The Taliban are seeking to allay concerns about the return of a strict regime to the country, namely restrictions on women and a brutal judiciary. However, analysts say it is too early to trust the Taliban’s promises. It is reported that the Taliban are already restricting women’s dress and employment in some parts of the country.
“They said everyone would be able to go to school – girls, guys. Life is normal now, but we don’t know anything about the future. People’s lives have been difficult lately, people are worried about how the Taliban have treated them before,” says Kabul. resident of Abdulvahab.
A photo taken this morning of girls going to school has made many people wonder how long such freedom will be possible in Afghanistan.
CONTEXT:
The Taliban began offensive since Afghanistan are exported to the United States and forces of other countries.
Since early August, the Taliban have taken control of most of the country, defeating Afghan security forces, dragging them to their side or forcing them to flee, despite some US aviation support.
Taliban militants on August 15 entered the three suburbs of the Afghan capital, Kabul, without a fight. Afghan officials said the Taliban would not attack the city and intended to hand over power peacefully to the caretaker government. The Taliban have also indicated that they want to peacefully take full control of the country in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Kabul airport was flooded by people who wants to leave the city and states close embassies and urgently evacuate staff from their diplomatic missions. There have also been reports that government officials and President Ashraf Gani are already leaving the country.
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