Hyderabad: At least five people were dead in Kabul International Airport as hundreds of Afghans pushed each other in a bid to make it to the planes leaving the country.It is not yet clear whether the five people died because of stampede or gunshots. US troops, who are in-charge of the airport, fired in the air to scatter the crowd, a U.S. official said.
There were chaotic scenes witnessed at the airport as US evacuation plans became chaotic. Desperate people from Kabul have been running helter-skelter on the runway with flights taking off in a chaotic manner. French and British embassies have shifted their work to the Kabul airport. Many Afghan interpreters along with their families are making desperate bid to leave the city before the Taliban round them up for have collaborated with foreign powers.
The Taliban took over Kabul after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
The U.S. Embassy has been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport to aid with the evacuation. Other Western countries have also closed their missions and are flying out staff and nationals.
With inputs from agencies
