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Tuesday, 17 August 2021

US takes control of Kabul airport to evacuate staff from country

 

US takes control of Kabul airport to evacuate staff from country

There have been scenes of panic at Kabul airport as desperate residents try to flee following the seizure of the Afghan capital by the Taliban.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that at least two civilians died on Monday in the chaos at the airport, which is being secured by US troops.

Commercial flights have mostly been suspended, stranding hundreds of Afghans and other foreign nationals.

The US and other countries are rushing to evacuate staff and allies.

On Sunday the Taliban declared victory after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad and his government collapsed.

The militants’ return to rule brings an end to almost 20 years of a US-led coalition’s presence in the country.

Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to hold out against a Taliban offensive that began months ago but accelerated in recent days as they gained control of territories, shocking many observers.

The Islamist group was able to seize control after most foreign troops pulled out.

At the weekend US President Joe Biden defended the withdrawal of American troops, saying he could not justify an “endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict”.

Following the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul, many people headed to the airport.

One video taken by an Afghan journalist on Monday showed crowds running to the airport terminal with children and luggage in tow.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Pictures showed crowds of Afghans waiting on the tarmac while US troops stood guard. Some accounts said people died in a stampede triggered by shots fired by US troops to keep crowds at bay.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC that Kabul airport was divided into a commercial side – which has largely ground to a halt and where the chaos is unfolding – and a military side, which has now been secured and is working for the various countries evacuating staff.The US has sent 6,000 troops to assist in the evacuation.

Thousands of American citizens, locals embassy staff and their families, as well as other “vulnerable Afghan nationals” will be airlifted in the coming days,

On Sunday night footage showed hundreds of people running to try to get on the last commercial flights out of the city.

Rakhshanda Jilali, a human rights activist who is trying to leave, said: “How can [the Americans] hold the airport and dictate terms and conditions to Afghans?”

“This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated while we wait in complete uncertainty,” she told Reuters news agency.

Afghans crowd at the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul on 16 August 2021.
image caption One picture showed Afghans crowding behind barbed wire near the airfield

More than 60 countries, including the US and the UK, have issued a joint statement saying the Afghan people “deserve to live in safety, security and dignity”, and that security and civil order should be immediately restored.

They also called on the Taliban to allow anyone who wishes to depart to do so, and to keep roads, airports and border crossings open.

A Taliban spokesman said people would be allowed to return home from the airport, Reuters reported.

On Sunday Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban negotiator in Qatar, told the BBC that properties and lives were safe. “We are the servants of the people and of this country,” he said.

US helicopters took embassy staff to the airport on Sunday, and there were reports of smoke rising near the compound as documents were destroyed.

Russia is planning to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

It said it would not be closing its embassy because it has been provided with security assurances by the Taliban.

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