Chaos at Kabul airport as thousands desperately want to leave after Taliban takeover
Nearly 7,000 people including women and children stranded at airport without food as airport closed
Thousands of
Afghans including women and children are stranded at Kabul international airport
in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban takes control of
Kabul. The situation is chaotic at the airport as people are trying to flee
Kabul.
The Airport
is the only secure place to leave the country as thousands of American, British
and Turkish military personnel are present there. The Kabul airport has been
secured by American military.
The American
troops resort to aerial firing when crowd became out of control and tried to
forcefully enter into an American plane. 10 people have lost their lives in
different incidents so far. Three people were killed when they tried to hide in the wheels of an American Air force plane and fell down on the runaway when plane took off. Two people killed by american troops when they opened fire at people. While five people died in stampede to catch the flight.
It is
necessary for authorities to provide food and shelter to the people desperately
looking to leave Afghanistan. It is not clear yet that how long it will take to
normalize the situation at the airport.
The airport is the only way out for now as the Taliban patrolling in the streets of Afghan capital. Panicked families trying to flee the capital carried over packed luggage, with frightened children in tow.
“There are two thousand individuals plus
(suitcases and all) on the tarmac not allowing flights to take off....this is a
catastrophe,” tweeted Afghan journalist Saad Mohseni of news outlet
MOBY Group. “There is no security at the airport. None. We call on the
Americans or anyone to help secure the civilian side of the airport. Now!”
Pentagon
Press Secretary John Kirby said all military and civilian flights have been
halted at the Kabul airport after crowds of civilians surged out onto the
runways.
"US
military forces are on the scene working alongside Turkish and other
international troops to clear the area of people. We do not know how long this
will take," Kirby said. He blamed the airport chaos on Afghanistan's
leadership, much of which has already fled the country.
Thousands
crowd onto the tarmac in bid to flee after Taliban takeover; all commercial
flights canceled; US State Department secures airport perimeter, evacuates
employees.
Dramatic
footage posted on social media showed a scene of chaos on the runway, with
civilians frantically clambering up an already overcrowded and buckling set of
air stairs.
By Sunday at
least 6,000 U.S. troops had been ordered back to the country to help with
evacuations, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense said in
a joint statement.
“At present
we are completing a series of steps to secure the Hamid Karzai International
Airport to enable the safe departure of U.S. and allied personnel from
Afghanistan via civilian and military flights,” the departments said, promising
those troops would arrive within the next 48 hours to take over air traffic
control and facilitate evacuation efforts.
“Tomorrow
and over the coming days, we will be transferring out of the country thousands
of American citizens who have been resident in Afghanistan, as well as locally
employed staff of the U.S. mission in Kabul and their families and other
particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals. And we will accelerate the evacuation
of thousands of Afghans eligible for U.S. Special Immigrant Visas, nearly 2,000
of whom have already arrived in the United States over the past two weeks.”
Rukhsana Manzoor Deputy Editor
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