Hundreds of people run alongside a US Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. Photo / via AP
Warning: Distressing content
Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul's main airport Monday (local time), some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, US officials said, as America's longest war ended with its enemy the victor.
The crowds came while the Taliban enforced their rule over the capital of five million people after a lightning advance across the country that took just over a week to dethrone the country's Western-backed government. There were no major reports of abuses or fighting, but many residents stayed home and remained fearful after the insurgents' advance saw prisons emptied and armories looted.
Can’t believe my eyes. Men holding lower part of the US aircraft moments before it took off from #Kabul airport. pic.twitter.com/bT97WrNa12
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) August 16, 2021
Firing at the Kabul airport. Taliban are barely 100 meters away and stopping people from entering the airport. Hundreds of people are sitting at the runway refusing to leave in the hope of flying out of the hell. (Video+Info) via local sources pic.twitter.com/iPt5N6ilx3
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) August 16, 2021
Across the nation, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that thousands had been wounded in fighting. Elsewhere, security forces and politicians handed over their provinces and bases without a fight, likely believing the two-decade Western experiment to remake Afghanistan would not survival the resurgent Taliban. The last American troops had planned to withdraw at the end of the month.
"The world is following events in Afghanistan with a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead," warned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
As the US military and others continued evacuation flights, Afghans swarmed over the international airport's tarmac. Some climbed into aircraft parked on the taxiway, while others dangled precariously off a jet bridge.
New high-res #satellite imagery (10:36 am local time, August 16) of the chaotic scene underway at #Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in #Afghanistan as thousands of people converged on the tarmac & airport runways as countries attempt to evacuate personnel from the city. pic.twitter.com/L6lhlVms54
— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) August 16, 2021
US troops took positions to guard the active runway, but the crowd stormed past them and their armoured vehicles. Gunshots rang out. As one US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III tried to take off, a helicopter did low runs in front of it to try to drive people off the runway.
Videos showed a group of Afghans hanging onto the plane just before takeoff and several falling through the air as the airplane rapidly gained altitude over the city.
Senior American military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation, told the Associated Press that the chaos left seven dead, including several who fell from the flight. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US forces killed two people he described as carrying weapons in the melee. He said 1000 more US troops would be deployed to secure the airfield and back up the 2500 already there.
Here in this video you see some of the Afghan youth hanging on the American airplane’s engines before take off in the Kabul airport pic.twitter.com/msb8UbZO9D
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 16, 2021
All flights at the airport — both military and civilian — were halted until Afghan civilians can be cleared from the runway, Kirby added.
Late Monday night, hundreds of people remained trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in, witnesses said. An Associated Press journalist also saw what appeared to be an airstrike target two vehicles near the airport.
Shafi Arifi, who had a ticket to travel to Uzbekistan on Sunday, was unable to board his plane because it was packed with people who had raced across the tarmac and climbed aboard, with no police or airport staff in sight.
"There was no room for us to stand," said the 24-year-old. "Children were crying, women were shouting, young and old men were so angry and upset, no one could hear each other. There was no oxygen to breathe."
#Kabul Airport Today.#Afghanistan #Kabul #Talibans #TalibanTakeover #AfghanWomen #AfghanistanCrisis pic.twitter.com/WF5NOjPwFR
— Aśvaka - آسواکا News Agency (@AsvakaNews) August 16, 2021
After a woman fainted and was carried off the plane, Arifi gave up and returned home.
Other Afghans, like Rakhmatula Kuyash, are also trying to leave through land border crossings, all of which are now controlled by the Taliban.
"I'm lost and I don't know what to do," said Kuyash, who crossed into Uzbekistan on Sunday after leaving his children and relatives in Afghanistan. "I left everything behind."
Others were not so lucky. Uzbekistan air defenses shot down an Afghan military aircraft that tried to enter the country without permission. The two pilots were reportedly injured and in custody.
The @EUinAfghanistan is also still represented in #Kabul and working hard - contrary to false reports. Key is now: Let’s avoid panic and chaos as this may cost further lives. https://t.co/hbDOrFdYXE pic.twitter.com/WNw2iamkcK
— Ambassador von Brandt (@EUAmbAFG) August 16, 2021
Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani, who earlier left the country, faced Russian allegations he fled Kabul with four cars and a helicopter full of cash. His whereabouts remained unclear.
The US Embassy has been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport to help with the evacuation. Other Western countries also closed their missions and were flying out staff and their citizens.
In interviews with US television networks, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan blamed the Afghan military for the Taliban's rapid takeover, saying it lacked the will to fight.
However, the ease with which the Taliban took control goes beyond military prowess, the Texas-based private intelligence firm Stratfor wrote.
"The speed of the Taliban's final advance suggests less military dominance than effective political insurgency coupled with an incohesive Afghan political system and security force struggling with flagging morale," it said.
The Taliban offensive through the country stunned American officials. Just days before the insurgents entered Kabul with little if any resistance, a US military assessment predicted it could take months for the capital to fall.
The rout threatened to erase 20 years of Western efforts to remake Afghanistan that saw tens of thousands of Afghans killed as well as more than 3500 US and allied troops. The initial invasion in 2001 drove the Taliban from power and scattered al-Qaida, which had planned the 9/11 attacks while being sheltered in Afghanistan.
Under the Taliban, which ruled in accordance with a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, women were largely confined to their homes and suspected criminals faced amputation or public execution. The insurgents have sought to project greater moderation in recent years, but many Afghans remain sceptical.
Journalists so far have been able to work, though Taliban militants visited the private satellite channel Tolo TV looking for "government-issued weapons," said station owner Saad Mohsini. Some militants put on Afghan military uniforms and began doing patrols, arresting suspected robbers.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees, separately described interactions with the Taliban as "relatively positive".
On Monday, Nillan, a 27-year-old resident of Kabul who asked to be identified only by her first name for fear of reprisals, said she did not see a single woman out on the streets during a 15-minute drive, "only men and boys".
"It feels like time has stopped. Everything's changed," she told the AP.
She added: "It feels like our life and our future has ended."
- AP
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