US officials say 7 killed in Kabul airport evacuation chaos

By AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ, KATHY GANNON AND JOSEPH KRAUSS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s planetary airdrome Monday, truthful hopeless to flight the Taliban seizure of their state that they held onto an American subject pitchy arsenic it took disconnected and plunged to decease successful chaos that killed astatine slightest 7 people, U.S. officials said.

The crowds of radical rushing the airdrome came arsenic the Taliban enforced their regularisation implicit the wider superior aft a lightning beforehand crossed the state that took conscionable implicit a week to dethrone the country’s Western-backed government. While determination were nary large reports of abuses, galore stayed location and remained fearful arsenic the insurgents’ beforehand saw prisons emptied and armories looted.

The Taliban swept into Kabul connected Sunday aft President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing an extremity to a two-decade run successful which the U.S. and its allies had tried to alteration Afghanistan. The country’s Western-trained information forces collapsed oregon fled, up of the planned withdrawal of the past American troops astatine the extremity of the month.

Residents raced to Kabul’s planetary airport, wherever the “civilian side” was closed until further notice, according to Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. The U.S. subject and different Western forces continued to signifier evacuations.

Videos circulating connected societal media showed hundreds of radical moving crossed the tarmac arsenic U.S. troops fired informing shots successful the air. One showed a assemblage pushing and shoving its mode up a staircase, trying to committee a plane, with immoderate radical hanging disconnected the railings.

In different video, hundreds of radical could beryllium seen moving alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport level arsenic it moved down a runway. Some clung to the broadside of the pitchy conscionable earlier takeoff. Another video showed respective falling done the aerial arsenic the airplane rapidly gained altitude implicit the city.

Senior subject officials, who spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon the ongoing operation, told The Associated Press that the chaos near 7 dead, including respective who fell from the flight.

The storming of the airport, seen from abstraction by passing satellites, raised questions astir however overmuch longer craft would beryllium capable to safely instrumentality disconnected and land.

Shafi Arifi, who had a summons to question to Uzbekistan connected Sunday, was incapable to committee her level due to the fact that it was packed with radical who had raced crossed the tarmac and climbed aboard, with nary constabulary oregon airdrome unit successful sight.

“There was nary country for america to stand,” said the 24-year-old. “Children were crying, women were shouting, young and aged men were truthful aggravated and upset, nary 1 could perceive each other. There was nary oxygen to breathe.”

After different pistillate fainted and was carried disconnected the plane, Arifi gave up and went backmost home.

The U.S. Embassy has been evacuated and the American emblem lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airdrome to assistance with the evacuation. Other Western countries person besides closed their missions and are flying retired unit and nationals.

Afghans are besides trying to permission done onshore borderline crossings, each of which are present controlled by the Taliban. Rakhmatula Kuyash, 30, was 1 of the fewer radical with a visa allowing him to transverse into Uzbekistan connected Sunday. He said his children and relatives had to enactment behind.

“I’m mislaid and I don’t cognize what to do. I near everything behind,” helium said.

A elder U.S. authoritative said “it’s heartbreaking” to spot what’s happening successful Kabul, but that President Joe Biden “stands by” his determination to propulsion retired due to the fact that helium didn’t privation the warfare determination — already the longest successful U.S. past — to participate a 3rd decade.

In interviews with U.S. tv networks, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan blamed the Afghan subject for the Taliban’s accelerated takeover, saying it lacked the volition to fight.

The easiness with which the Taliban took power goes beyond subject prowess, however, the Texas-based backstage quality steadfast Stratfor wrote.

“The velocity of the Taliban’s last beforehand suggests little subject dominance than effectual governmental insurgency coupled with an incohesive Afghan governmental strategy and information unit struggling with flagging morale,” it said.

The lightning Taliban violative done the state appears to person stunned American officials. Just days earlier the insurgents entered Kabul with small if immoderate resistance, a U.S. subject appraisal predicted it could instrumentality months for the superior to fall.

The rout threatened to erase 20 years of Western efforts to remake Afghanistan that saw much than 3,500 U.S. and allied troops killed arsenic good arsenic tens of thousands of Afghans. The archetypal penetration drove the Taliban from powerfulness and scattered al-Qaida, which had planned the 9/11 attacks portion being sheltered successful Afghanistan. Many had hoped the Western-backed Afghan authorities would usher successful a caller epoch of bid and respect for quality rights.

As the U.S. mislaid absorption connected Afghanistan during the Iraq war, the Taliban yet regrouped. The militants captured overmuch of the Afghan countryside successful caller years and past swept into cities arsenic U.S. forces prepared to retreat up of an Aug. 31 deadline.

Under the Taliban, which ruled successful accordance with a harsh mentation of Islamic law, women were mostly confined to their homes and suspected criminals faced amputation oregon nationalist execution. The insurgents person sought to task greater moderation successful caller years, but galore Afghans stay skeptical.

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, tweeted that fighters had been instructed to support “life, spot and honor,” and the radical has besides said it volition enactment retired of the upscale diplomatic 4th lodging the U.S. Embassy complex.

Meanwhile, the caput of U.S. Central Command met face-to-face with elder Taliban leaders successful Qatar and won their statement to found an statement nether which evacuation operations astatine the airdrome tin proceed without interference, a U.S. defence authoritative said. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon delicate talks not yet announced publicly.

But immoderate disquieted those promises are hollow. On Monday, Nillan, a 27-year-old nonmigratory of Kabul, said she didn’t spot a azygous pistillate retired connected the streets during a 15-minute drive, “only men and boys.”

“It feels similar clip has stopped. Everything’s changed,” she told The Associated Press. She said adjacent the astir autarkic Afghan women present person to interest astir the simplest things, specified arsenic however to get groceries successful the lack of a antheral escort.

Nillan, who spoke connected information that she lone beryllium identified by her archetypal sanction retired of fearfulness for her safety, said the Taliban ran TV ads urging radical to instrumentality to work, without mentioning women.

“We don’t cognize what to do, we don’t cognize if we inactive person jobs,” she said. “It feels similar our beingness and our aboriginal has ended.”

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Faiez reported from Istanbul, Krauss from Jerusalem and Gannon from Guelph, Canada. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell successful Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Samya Kullab successful Baghdad, Daria Litvinova successful Moscow, Robert Burns successful Washington, James LaPorta successful Boca Raton, Florida, and Zeina Karam successful Beirut contributed.