translated from Spanish: Thousands of desperate people unleash chaos at Kabul airport

Thousands of people desperate to flee Afghanistan unleashed chaos on Monday at Kabul airport, attempting to board repatriation flights on the country’s first day under Taliban control, where it has also been reported that at least three people may have been killed by gunfire. The tide of people began arriving since last night at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, with many of them without even travel documents or visas, leaving distressing images, after the Taliban entered the city culminating in their final victory after two decades of war. Most are ordinary people who rushed to the airport carried by the idea that the United States, which is evacuating its personnel in the country, is going to take out the Afghans, an airport official told Efe, who requested anonymity. So far neither Afghan security forces nor Taliban fighters have taken over security at the airport, he said. The mob has left dozens of people beaten, including children, who throw themselves over each other to reach the runway, where some planes remain scheduled for a limited evacuation of foreigners, he said. At this time, all flights from Hamid Karzai International Airport are temporarily suspended, afghanistan’s Civil Aviation authority said in a statement.” Do not approach the airport until flights resume,” he added. Videos circulated on social media show hundreds of people pushing and climbing on others to get on a plane, and others even hear gunshots nearby. In the screenshot of a video, which is picked up by the local channel Tolo on Twitter, three bodies are seen on the ground, and the message that they are “allegedly shot at Kabul International Airport this morning”, without further confirmation, although it is also speculated that they could die in a stampede. Early this morning, local time, the U.S. State Department announced that it had “completed” the process to transport to the airport the approximately 4,000 employees of its embassy in Kabul.Likewise, the U.S. embassy today reiterated its alert for people waiting to be repatriated, so that they do not approach the airport due to the fragile security of the area, and to remain sheltered in their places until they are warned. The State Department said in a statement that it is working to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport and allow the safe departure of U.S. personnel and their allies through civilian and military flights.” Over the next 48 hours, we will have expanded our security presence to nearly 6,000 troops, with a mission focused solely on facilitating these efforts and taking control of air traffic,” he said. A group of 70 countries across continents, including Spain, France and Germany, on Monday urged “those in positions of authority throughout Afghanistan” to allow the country’s citizens and internationals to leave the Asian country.

Original source in Spanish