10 killed at Kabul airport chaos

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 17 (ANI): At least 10 people were killed and several were injured at Kabul airport in last two days as thousands tried to catch flights in an attempt to flee the country soon after the Taliban captured Kabul, local media reported.

People entered the airport from all sides despite the presence of US forces as well as troops from other nations attempting to secure the evacuations of their respective citizens and Afghan local staff. Shots were fired and a stampede ensued, both of which caused fatalities, TOLO News said.

US forces killed two armed people. Two other people were killed after they fell from a US military airplane in flight after takeoff. The people had apparently grabbed onto the aircraft from the outside. Some eyewitnesses said that 10 were wounded, TOLO News added. As the Taliban entered Kabul and seized the presidential palace on Sunday, thousands of people rushed to the airport to flee the country. Officials believe that people were misinformed about the availability of flights at the airport.

Earlier on Monday, a shocking video circulated on the internet showed desperate Afghans, who had clung on to the underbelly of a C-17 Globemaster, fell down from the plane. It appeared that desperate Afghans were clinging on to either the undercarriage of the C-17 or the landing gear of the transport plane when they got flung out due to the huge G-force exerted during take-off.

Over Afghanistan’s situation, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the establishment of a new government that is united, inclusive and representative. In a press statement, UNSC President TS Tirumurti said that the members of the Security Council called for an immediate end to the violence in Afghanistan, the restoration of security, civil and constitutional order.

UNSC members also called for urgent talks to resolve the current crisis of authority in the country and to arrive at a peaceful settlement through an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation. The Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. The terrorist group is now everywhere in the capital, walking the streets of Kabul with ease (and with American weapons in hand). (ANI)