Afghan crisis: Chaotic evacuation at airport as tense calm prevails in Kabul

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign

Afghan crisis: Chaotic evacuation at airport as tense calm prevails in Kabul

A US soldier points his gun towards an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport on Monday. Pic/AFP

Thousands of people packed into the Afghan capital’s airport on Monday, rushing the tarmac and pushing onto planes in desperate attempts to flee the country after the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed government. United States (US) troops fired warning shots as they struggled to manage the chaotic evacuation.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed or fled in the face of an insurgent offensive that tore through the country in just over a week, ahead of the planned withdrawal of the last American troops at the end of the month.

In the capital, a tense calm set in, with most people hiding in their homes as the Taliban deployed fighters at major intersections. There were scattered reports of looting and armed men knocking on doors and gates, and there was less traffic than usual on eerily quiet streets. Fighters could be seen searching vehicles at one of the city’s main squares.

Many fear chaos, after the Taliban freed thousands of prisoners and the police simply melted away, or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taliban imposed when it was last in power. They raced to Kabul’s international airport, where the “civilian side” was closed until further notice, according to Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. The military was put in control of the airspace.

Also read: China hopes Taliban will establish ‘open, inclusive’ Islamic govt; not permit terror groups

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport on Monday. Pic/AFP

Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people running across the tarmac as US soldiers fired warning shots in the air. One showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings. In another video, hundreds of people could be seen running alongside a US Air Force transport plane as it moved down a runway. Some climbed onto the side of the jet just before take-off. That raised questions about how much longer aircraft would be able to safely take off and land.

‘Hope Taliban abides by its commitment’

China on Monday expressed hope that the Taliban will stand by its commitment of establishing an “open and inclusive” Islamic government in Afghanistan and will ensure a peaceful transition of power without violence and terrorism.

‘US could now face terror threats’

America’s top general said the United States could now face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan. That warning comes as intelligence agencies charged with anticipating those threats face new questions after the US-backed Afghan military collapsed with shocking speed.

Eight die at Kabul airport amid chaos

Five people have been killed at the Kabul airport and three stowaways were reported to have fallen to their deaths from an airborne plane as thousands of Afghans are trying to get on flights out of the country amid chaotic scenes, the Daily Mail reported.

‘Afghan has broken shackles of slavery’

Pakistan PM Imran Khan seemed to endorse the Taliban taking over Kabul by saying that Afghanistan has broken the “shackles of slavery” . The war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment when the Taliban insurgents closed in on Kabul before entering it and took over the presidential palace.

‘Negotiated political settlement only way’

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s foreign minister

‘Pakistan is very clear on our position: we believe that a negotiated political settlement is the only way forward. We do not wish to see continued cycle of civil war and want the people of Afghanistan to thrive, not simply survive’

Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist

‘We watch in complete shock as Taliban takes control of Afghanistan. I am deeply worried about women, minorities and human rights advocates. Global, regional and local powers must call for an immediate ceasefire, provide urgent humanitarian aid and protect refugees and civilians’

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general

‘I call on all parties to provide humanitarians with unimpeded access to timely and life-saving services and aid. I also urge all countries to be willing to accept refugees’