Hyderabad: At least seven Afghanistan civilians died as the chaos around Kabul’s international airport intensified with increasing number of citizens thronging the airport to flee the country, the British Military confirmed. Media reports claimed that stampede and rush led to the deaths as Taliban fire gunshots in the air to drive away people who were desperate to get out of the war-torn country.
The US Embassy had on Saturday issued a new security warning asking citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a US.government representative.
“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
British and Western soldiers were found helping those stranded in and around the airport. With temparature reaching 34 degrees Celsius, the troops sprayed water from a hose on the crowd and handed them bottled water so they could feel relieved.
Speaking to an Iranian state television channel, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem blamed the deaths at the airport on the US. “The Americans announced that we would take you to America with us and people gathered at Kabul airport,” Naeem said. “If it was announced right now in any country in the world, would people not go?” The host on Iranian state TV said, “It won’t happen in Iran.” To this, Naeem responded, “Be sure this will happen anywhere.” The conversation was noted by Associated Press.
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Meanwhile, the Taliban’s top political leader has arrived in Kabul for talks on forming a new government. A few days ago, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is credited with negotiating the militants’ 2020 peace deal with the US, had returned to Kandahar from Qatar. He is now expected to play a key role in negotiations between the Taliban and officials from the Afghan government, AP reported.
