Chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans try to flee Taliban

Several people are reported killed at Kabul airport as Afghans flee following the Taliban’s takeover of the country…

SOURCE: BBC

■   Several people are reported killed at Kabul airport as Afghans flee following the Taliban’s takeover of the country

■   The US says all its embassy staff have been evacuated to the airport

■   More than 60 countries have issued a joint statement calling on the Taliban to allow people ■   to leave

■   Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country, reportedly to Uzbekistan

■   The Taliban swept into Kabul unopposed and have seized the presidential palace

US takes control of Kabul airport to evacuate staff

Afghans try desperately to get on board this departing US military plane (Image courtesy BBC)

There have been scenes of panic at Kabul airport as desperate residents try to flee following the seizure of the Afghan capital by the Taliban.

Witnesses say at least three civilians died on Monday in the chaos at the airport, which is being secured by US troops. Some people tried to cling on to planes as they took off.

With scheduled flights suspended, many foreigners and Afghans are stranded.

The US and other countries are rushing to evacuate staff and allies.

On Sunday the Taliban declared victory after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad and his government collapsed.

The militants’ return to rule brings an end to almost 20 years of a US-led coalition’s presence in the country.

Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to hold out against a Taliban offensive that began months ago but accelerated in recent days as they gained control of territories, shocking many observers.

The Islamist group was able to seize control after most foreign troops pulled out.

Following the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul, many people headed to the airport.

Afghans crowd at the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul on 16 August 2021. (Image: GETTY)

Evacuations of foreigners and some Afghans with links to foreign governments and organisations have been taking place, but passengers said rumours spread that even those without visas were being allowed to travel.

As huge crowds gathered, US forces reportedly fired into the air to disperse people who were trying to force their way onto planes. There were reports that some died in the stampede.

Video obtained by Afghan media outlets showed people clinging to the side of a plane as it began to taxi on the runway.

Another video appeared to show men falling from a plane that had taken off.Rakhshanda Jilali, a human rights activist who is trying to leave, said: “How can [the Americans] hold the airport and dictate terms and conditions to Afghans?”

“This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated while we wait in complete uncertainty,” she told Reuters news agency.

The US has sent 6,000 troops to assist in the evacuation.

Thousands of American citizens, locals embassy staff and their families, as well as other “vulnerable Afghan nationals” will be airlifted in the coming days, a US government statement said.

At the weekend US President Joe Biden defended the withdrawal of American troops, saying he could not justify an “endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict”.

More than 60 countries, including the US and the UK, have issued a joint statement saying the Afghan people “deserve to live in safety, security and dignity”, and that security and civil order should be immediately restored.

They also called on the Taliban to allow anyone who wishes to depart to do so, and to keep roads, airports and border crossings open.

A Taliban spokesman said people would be allowed to return home from the airport, Reuters reported.

Life inside Kabul after the Taliban take over

By Malik Mudassir, BBC video journalist, reporting from Kabul today.
A Taliban soldier armed with submachine gun, patrolling the streets of Kabul, today. Image courtesy BBC.

The Taliban are everywhere, at the checkpoints which used to be official police or army barricades. There is no panic in the city today. The Taliban were controlling traffic, they were searching cars, and they were especially searching those vehicles which used to belong to the police and army. They have taken all those vehicles and they are using them.

In the city centre, life is normal. Traffic is much less. Most of the shops are closed. But people look much calmer than yesterday, when everybody was furious.

I saw a couple of females out on the street. They were wearing [Covid] face masks and a head scarf. They were walking on the streets, doing whatever they want to do, and the Taliban were alright with them.

There is no music on the streets at all. I am staying in a hotel where they used to play background music. They have stopped it as well. People are scared. But the city is still going on.

But… the scene at the airport was catastrophic. Families, kids, young, old, they were all walking towards the airport, struggling to flee this country.

As soon as you approach the main entrance gates of the airport, there were Taliban with heavy ammunition there, trying to disperse people by shooting in the air. People who wanted to get into airport, they were climbing on the walls, even the barbed wire, even the gates. Every single person was pushing to get into the airport.

Former president ‘liaising with Taliban over transition’

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. (Image: REUTERS)

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in contact with the Taliban with a view to bringing peace to the country, he says.

Mr Karzai was Afghanistan’s leader from 2001-2014.

He says he is part of a three-member council working to transfer power to the militants peacefully.

The council also includes the leader of the Hezb-e Islami party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar – a former warlord turned politician – and the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Karzai says the council has had contacts with the Taliban leadership and will be co-ordinating with them.

“The important thing is the life and safety of all Afghan people and our aim is to establish that. The Taliban have told me they have appointed people to focus on the security of the city, and I hope there will be further progress on this tomorrow [Monday].

“Dr Ashraf Ghani [the current president] has deserted his job and gone. He has left the scene. To fill this vacuum, legitimacy needs to be brought back. Only through a legitimate body, the security of Kabul and the whole country can be tasked to suitable hands.

“The Taliban are dominating now and I hope the domination is strong and for the good of the Afghan nation.”

Map showing the rapid advance of the Taliban. Image courtesy BBC.

Who is still talking to the Taliban?

While many Western nations have closed their embassies in Kabul after the Taliban’s takeover of the city, a number of countries are still holding the door open for future links with the militants:

A spokeswoman for China‘s foreign ministry told AFP news agency that Beijing welcomed the opportunity to build deeper ties with Afghanistan. “The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China, and that they look forward to China’s participation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan… we welcome this,” she said

Russia‘s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, is due to meet a Taliban representative on Tuesday to discuss security for the embassy in Kabul, which will remain open. Moscow has said it hopes to develop ties with the Taliban, although it also says it is in no rush to recognise them as the country’s rulers

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said the US “military failure” in Afghanistan offers an opportunity to establish lasting peace in the country.” America’s military defeat and its withdrawal must become an opportunity to restore life, security and durable peace in Afghanistan,” Iran’s state TV quoted Raisi as saying.