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Thousands Storm Kabul Airport In Desperate Attempt To Flee Afghanistan

Thousands Storm Kabul Airport In Desperate Attempt To Flee Afghanistan

It comes as the Taliban cements its control of the country

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Chaotic scenes have been shared on social media showing thousands of people storming the airport in Kabul in a bid to escape the Taliban. Watch below:

The Islamic military group has taken control of the Afghanistan capital, with its forces converging on the city over the weekend.

And with news that Taliban rule was about to be reintroduced to the country, thousands have now fled, with crowds running through the gates at Kabul Airport.

In clips posted to Twitter, people can be seen jumping into the back of large cargo planes, pulling those on the tarmac below up with them.

According to reports, gunshots have also been heard at the airport.

Witnesses said five people had been killed, with one saying he had seen five bodies taken outside to a vehicle, Reuters reports.

Another witness said it was unclear if the people had been killed by the gunshots or in a stampede.

An official at the airport said: "The airport is out of control... the (Afghan) government just sold us out."

US President Joe Biden had committed 1,000 more troops to the region to help airlift embassy personnel and Afghan allies.

President Biden has been criticised for the US departure.
PA

Images shared online of helicopters landing near the US embassy in Kabul have been compared to those of the US evacuation of Saigon in 1975 - something Mr Biden had promised would not be the case.

Republican Congressman and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said: "It's a very dire situation when you see the United States Embassy being evacuated.

"In fact, you just had President Biden a few days ago saying you wouldn't see helicopters evacuating the embassy like Saigon, and yet here we are. This is President Biden's Saigon moment and unfortunately, it was very predictable."

Elsewhere, people have taken to their cars, with roads out of Kabul at a complete standstill.

The Taliban has now cemented its control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country over the weekend.

The group had been removed from power by US and UK-led forces back in 2001.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the capital of Kabul as Taliban forces advanced.
PA

During its rule, women were not permitted to work and punishments such as stoning, whipping and hanging were known to be used.

It's feared these laws will now be reintroduced.

In a message to the people of Afghanistan, President Ghani attempted to explain why he left the country before militants could seize control of the Presidential Palace.

The world leader said he faced a 'hard decision' between an 'armed Taliban' and 'leaving the dear country that I dedicated my life to protecting the past 20 years'.

He said: "If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city.

"The Taliban had made it clear that they were ready to carry out a bloody attack on all of Kabul and the people of Kabul to oust me. In order to prevent a flood of bloodshed, I decided to leave."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: joe biden, War, World News, UK News, Airport, UK politics, US Politics, US News, President, No-Article-Matching, Politics