After the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday, August 15, chaos reigned at the capital’s airport. By Tuesday night, there were several hundred Afghans wanting to get out of the country. the He told Terry WaterdaAfghan
At the same time that people continue to flock to the airport, they are working hard to evacuate from several NATO member states. Norway is one of the countries that has announced that it will evacuate its local staff at the embassy in Kabul.
It is the experience of NRK that the biggest challenge with the evacuation now is not the opposition to the Taliban. Instead, it is transporting those who will be evacuated to the airport gates.
Chaos reigned on Sunday outside Kabul’s military airport. All are desperate to get away from the Taliban.
Taliban at the checkpoint
When chaos erupted on Sunday, people gathered outside the gates of the military part of the airport. This is now over, says the NRK Middle East correspondent at the airport himself.
“The Taliban pushed the crowd right out of one of the gates of the military airport several hundred meters away, keeping the crowd away from the foreign soldiers,” said Yama Wolasmal.
The Taliban only allow people who have a valid reason to come to the airport for evacuation.
Young Afghans and old men gather outside Kabul airport.
Photo: Asfaka News/Reuters
In other words, Jemaah Islamiyah is not preventing neither Western citizens nor local Afghans from leaving the capital now. On the contrary, they facilitate it, according to Wallasmal.
– The Taliban will not repeat the storming of the airport, as we saw this weekend. Therefore, they control the crowds with a heavy hand. Today, they shoot in the air to frighten people, and beat them with sticks and whips to keep them away from the airport.
There should still be large crowds gathering at least three of the gates of the military airport. We are talking about people who worked with foreign forces in Afghanistan, and people who want to flee the country for other reasons.
The fact that several hundred undocumented Afghans were mistakenly evacuated from the country on a US plane on Sunday must be one reason why more of them are now flocking to the airport.
With large crowds gathering around the airport, it will be difficult to get Norwegian and local staff through the gates and into the terminal area.
The same was confirmed by the Italian leader of the evacuation.
– Now it’s safe inside the airport. This means that we can transport people on planes. The situation outside the airport is difficult. There are crowds who want to get on any plane. It’s a tough process to get our employees and their families inside. Colonel Diego Giarizo told Reuters.
accompanied by the Taliban
The Taliban’s facilitation of foreigners’ access to the airport can also be confirmed by Indian Embassy staff. When the Taliban occupied Kabul, it became impossible for 150 Indian diplomats with their families to reach the airport. So embassy staff contacted the Taliban and asked for help in escorting them abroad.
It was not, of course, that the Taliban wanted help. India has consistently supported the government that came to power after the overthrow of the Taliban.
After a long day of waiting and two investigations, the two students showed up late at night. to me Aljazeera The Taliban took five hours to escort the diplomats with their families five kilometers from the airport.
Every now and then, Taliban fighters jumped out of their cars and aimed their weapons at the crowds in the streets to force them to retreat.
It is also said that a warrior who seemed to have command shot into the air to frighten a large group of people gathered in one cross.
He left the Taliban escort when the convoy arrived at the airport and was greeted by the American Indian soldiers.
The Germans and Afghans who worked for Germany in Afghanistan are ready on the plane that will take them out of Kabul.
Photo: Marc Tessensohn / AP
Reports of violence
And the Taliban has previously said that it will make it easier for anyone who wants to leave Afghanistan. According to the GuardianThis is far from the case. According to the newspaper, there were reports from Kabul of violence at the checkpoints.
NRK’s experience is that the Taliban beat up people who tried to break into the airport, but that those who could give a valid reason and provide documentation as to why they wanted to enter the airport, are allowed to pass.
The US is now pressing the Taliban to allow Afghans to leave the country via the US-controlled airport, according to Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
“We have seen reports that the Taliban, contrary to their public statements and their obligations to our government, are preventing Afghans who want to leave the country from getting to the airport,” Sherman said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Around the clock, Afghans stand outside the airport hoping to get a seat on a plane outside the country.
Photo: Yama Wolasmal/NRK
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Eriksen Soered said 14 Norwegians had been evacuated, including five stationed at the Norwegian embassy in Kabul. Arrived safely in Norway. More than 60 local workers and their families remain in Afghanistan.
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