Afghans throng Kabul airport to flee Taliban
Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and plunged to death in chaos that killed at least seven people, US officials said.
The crowds of people rushing the airport came as the Taliban enforced their rule over the wider capital after a lightning advance across the country that took just over a week to dethrone the country’s Western-backed government. While there were no major reports of abuses, many stayed home and remained fearful as the insurgents’ advance saw prisons emptied and armories looted.
Residents raced to Kabul’s international airport, where the “civilian side” was closed until further notice, according to Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. The U.S. military and other Western forces continued to organize evacuations.
Images of people clinging to the hulking aircraft even as it left the ground quickly circulated around the world. It seemed to capture the moment more vividly than words: a symbol of America’s military might, flying out of the country even as Afghans hung on against all hope.
Three persons allegedly held on to a wheel of a US plane flying out of Kabul and are seen falling to their death in one of the multiple videos showing desperate attempts by Afghans to escape Taliban rule.
International community must unite: Guterres
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the international community to unite and use “all available instruments” to ensure Afghanistan is never again used as a platform or safe haven for terrorist organisations, telling the UNSC that “we cannot and must not” abandon the people of the war-torn country.
“The world is following events in Afghanistan with a heavy heart and deep disquiet about what lies ahead. All of us have seen the images in real time. Chaos. Unrest. Uncertainty. And fear. Much lies in the balance,” Guterres told an emergency meeting of the Security Council.