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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Terror At Kabul Airport: 5 Killed As Thousands Flee Afghanistan After Taliban Takes Over Capital (PHOTOS)

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Thousands of desperate Afghans are gathering at Kabul airport in chaotic scenes after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban who have announced a new ‘Islamic Emirate’.

US troops are guarding the airport but all non-military flights are grounded after gunfire was heard nearby and while American personnel take over air traffic control.

US forces fired in the air at Kabul’s airport on Monday to prevent hundreds of civilians running onto the tarmac, a US official said.

‘The crowd was out of control,’ the official told Reuters by phone. ‘The firing was only done to defuse the chaos.’

Hundreds of Afghans have jammed the airport trying to get out of the country after Taliban insurgents entered the capital on Sunday.

Video from Kabul showed panicked stampedes to the gates of the airport, while some passengers were forced to get off their commercial flights when departures were stopped.

Hundreds of passengers were filmed thronging the tarmac by Afghan businessman Shoaib Barak who said he was forced to get off his KamAir flight after boarding and heard gunfire.

The speed of the Taliban advance has taken almost everyone by surprise and Afghans who had booked commercial flights to escape the Taliban face being forced to remain in Afghanistan.

Westerners will be evacuated by their home nations on military flights but the Taliban has said that it will not allow Afghan citizens to leave.

Tens of thousands of interpreters and officials who helped the Western-backed Afghan government are desperate to escape the country for fear of reprisals by the Taliban.

On Sunday the US led more than 65 nations in urging the resurgent Taliban to let Afghans leave the country, warning of accountability for any abuses.

‘The United States joins the international community in affirming that Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so,’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter as the State Department released a statement signed by its close allies. ‘Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility – and accountability – for the protection of human life,’ the joint statement said.

A NATO official said all commercial flights had been suspended and only military aircraft were allowed to operate. The alliance said it was helping to keep the airport running (pictured: Scenes at Kabul airport)
A NATO official said all commercial flights had been suspended and only military aircraft were allowed to operate. The alliance said it was helping to keep the airport running (pictured: Scenes at Kabul airport) 
Harrowing pictures show people waiting near Kabul Airport's runway to escape from the country's capital - as the Taliban entered the presidential palace
Harrowing pictures show people waiting near Kabul Airport’s runway to escape from the country’s capital – as the Taliban entered the presidential palace

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