Seven people died near the Kabul airport as thousands in Afghanistan continue to attempt to leave the country after the Taliban’s takeover, Sky News reported on Sunday, citing the British government. The overall toll rose to 20 with these deaths.
At least four people were crushed to death near the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Saturday, The Times reported. There have been stampedes at the gates of the airport, with the Taliban firing shots in the air to disperse the crowds, according to AP.
“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said. “Our sincere thoughts are with the families of the seven Afghan civilians who have sadly died in crowds in Kabul.”
Distressing visuals have emerged from Afghanistan even as foreign troops have been trying to control the situation on the ground, helping in the evacuation of diplomats as well as civilians from the conflict-ridden country.
The chaotic situation at the Kabul airport has led to concerns that the massive evacuation effort may not be complete before American troops withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31.
“I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace wrote in an article for The Mail on Sunday.
More than 26,000 people, including both foreign citizens and Afghans, have been evacuated from the warn-torn country so far, according to CNN.
However, the US is yet to evacuate 15,000 Americans and about 60,000 of its Afghan allies from the country, AFP reported on Sunday. France has evacuated more than 570 people since Monday, while Germany has flown nearly 2,000 out of Afghanistan, according to AP.
On Sunday, the Indian Air Force’s repatriation flight evacuated 168 passengers, including 107 Indians, from Afghanistan. The flight, which was also carrying two Afghan senators and 24 Afghan Sikhs, landed at the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad near Delhi.
Three other flights belonging to Air India, IndiGo and Vistara, carrying Indians citizens, left Kabul and landed in Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar’s Doha. The flight from Tajikistan, carrying 87 Indians and two Nepali citizens, arrived in Delhi earlier on Sunday.
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