Afghanistan crisis: At least five people were killed at Kabul airport, Reuters reported
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan culminated today in desperate scenes at Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans came to the tarmac in hope of flying out from the country. Five people were killed at the airport, news agency Reuters reported.
Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:
- There were reports of sporadic gunfire at the airport. Earlier this morning, US troops did fire in the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Several large cargo aircraft of the US Air Force were parked at Kabul airport.
- It was not immediately clear how the victims died. A US official said troops had fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight that was set to take US diplomats and embassy staff out of the fallen city, Reuters reported.
- One witness, waiting for a flight out for more than 20 hours, said it was unclear if the five had been shot or killed in a stampede. Three bodies could be seen on the ground near what appeared to be an airport side entrance, in video posted on social media. Another witness said he had also seen five bodies.
- The Afghan airspace has been closed and a NOTAM or notice to airmen has been issued to say Kabul airspace is no longer usable. An Air India aircraft tasked to fly to Afghanistan to bring out people will no longer be able to go there, sources have told NDTV.
- An NDTV exclusive video from Kabul airport shows the chaos unfolding there after the Taliban takeover. Gunfire can be heard. People are seen scaling the perimeter walls of the airport and running towards parked aircraft.
- Air India flights coming from the US have been re-routed since the Afghan airspace has been closed, sources said. Flights AI-126 (Chicago-New Delhi) and AI-174 (San Francisco-New Delhi) will have to re-routed to a Gulf nation to refuel, they said, adding Air India is also working on new routes for flights that will depart later from India to the US.
- Taliban terrorists with rifles slung over their shoulders were seen walking today through the streets of the Green Zone, the formerly heavily fortified district that houses most embassies and international organisations.
- The Taliban sought to reassure the international community that Afghans should not fear them, and they will not take revenge against those who supported the US-backed alliance. "Now it's time to test and prove, now we have to show that we can serve our nation and ensure security and comfort of life," Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar said in a post on social media.
- But today's desperate scenes at Kabul airport clearly shows people are worried about their safety after the Taliban takeover. "We are afraid to live in this city," a 25-year-old ex-soldier told news agency AFP as he stood among huge crowds on the tarmac. "Since I served in the army, the Taliban would definitely target me."
- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asked the Taliban and all parties to "exercise restraint" and said the rights of women and girls, who suffered under the previous Taliban regime, must be protected.
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