Desperate scenes at Kabul airport as Afghans jostle to board plane leaving Afghanistan

0
149

A day after the Taliban took control of the capital city Kabul, hundreds of Afghan nationals thronged to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport to probably take the last few flights leaving Afghanistan.Videos shared on different social media platforms showed hordes of Afghan nationals jostling to climb into an aeroplane to fly out of the country. The Afghan crowds mobbed the airport’s tarmac as the US troops, who were manning the airport, resorted to aerial fire.The United States deployed as many as 6,000 of its troops at the Kabul airport to ensure a safe departure of its citizens and those of its friends and allies from Afghanistan. The US military has secured the perimeter of Kabul airport which is also serving as the acting consulate for some countries such as France.Earlier in the day, commercial flights at Kabul airport were suspended due to firing near the area, the Associated Press stated. Major airlines, such as United Airlines (UAL.O), British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, said they were re-routing flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace.After just a week of military action, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.